Friend, Mother, Wife
by immortalsoul273
Summary: What if something more happened when Splinter moved to New York? What if things happened differently when Splinter and the turtles got mutated? Splinter bumped into a woman on that fateful day and he gained a friend. She was there when he and the turtles got mutated and the turtles gained a mother. As the years pass, what if she becomes something more? SplinterxOC 2012 version.
1. Introduction

**Chloe Wilson**

 **Voiced by Dolly Parton**

Appearance: short wavy bob caramel hair, dark brown skin and grey eyes with yellow ring

Clothes: punk goth hot pink fishnet neon mesh tank top with black top underneath, yellow zebra print skirt and black short lace combat boots

Long sleeve pink button up blouse, faded blue jeans, dark teal cowgirl boots and outdoor woods camo baseball cap

Likes: photography, sketching, reading, sports and gardening


	2. Year One: Meeting, Names, Friendship

Hamato Yoshi was walking through the streets holding a glass case that had four baby turtles in it. But as he continued to walk through the streets, someone had bumped into his shoulder and he heard a flutter of papers. He looked to see who had run into him and saw that it was a woman that looked to be around his age and was wearing a tank top and a skirt and she had her arms crossed over, holding a stack of papers, but the clash caused some of them to slip.

"Oh, I am so sorry!" the woman apologized in a southern accent, which had surprised Yoshi because they were in the city, and kneeled down to pick up the papers she dropped.

"It's alright" Yoshi said and also kneeled down to help pick the papers up, "It's also partially my fault for not looking and I'm sorry about causing you to drop you papers"

"No it's alright" the woman then groaned, "I can't believe I let this happen to me"

"What?"

"As you can already tell, I'm not really from the city; I came from the country side in Alabama and when I got here, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't let the city rush me and now here I am, bumping into people and nearly knocking their…" the woman looked at the glass case and started to gush, "Cute baby turtles!" the woman then looked a little worried, "Are they alright?"

"Yes, they are fine"

"Good" the woman started to gaze at the baby turtles, "My neighbor used to have a pond full of turtles" The two soon stood up as soon as they gathered the papers. "I don't think we've been actually been formally introduced" the woman said and placed the papers in one arm and held out her other hand, "My names Chloe Wilson"

"Hamato Yoshi" The two shook hands.

"Well it was nice to… bump into you" the two adults laughed a bit, "You're very nice, much nicer than the cranky New Yorkers around here, so you must be kind of new here as well"

Yoshi became a bit sad, but he didn't let it show and smiled a bit, "Yes, I am also new here"

"Five minutes in a conversation and we already found out that we have something in common; I'd love to chat with you some more, but I gotta be somewhere right now, so maybe we'll see each other again, or really, we might just bump into each other again"

Yoshi chuckled a bit, "Only fate can tell"

"Well, goodbye for now Mr. Hamato"

"Farewell Ms. Wilson"

Just as Chloe began to walk away and Yoshi was about to continue to walk down the street, he suddenly heard a scuffle and what sounded like a muffled scream; when he turned around, he caught the split second of a foot flail out of an alley before it disappeared. Yoshi looked down and saw that Chloe's papers and satchel were scattered on the ground and he instantly knew that something had happened to her. He made his way towards where Chloe's belongings were and peered around the corner into the alleyway, shocked to see what was happening.

Two strange men who looked alike were also in the alleyway and one of them had his arm wrapped around Chloe to restrain her and his other hand was on her mouth to make sure no one could hear her screams; then the other man came closer to Chloe with a canister filled with some strange glowing ooze. Before he could use his master ninjutsu skills to save Chloe, he had accidently stepped on a rat and the squeaking gave his position away.

"Go no further" one of the man said as more men arrived and surrounded Yoshi, "This place is a place where you are not allowed to be in this place, we have been seen in this place by you, so this is not the place that will be left by you"

Chloe managed to pry the man's hand off of her mouth, "Run! Don't worry about me! Run!"

Yoshi didn't listen and fought against the attackers, defending himself and taking them down with ease; but when he had punched another, it was the one who was holding the glowing canister and it broke, spilling all over him. He then accidently dropped the case of the turtles into the puddle of the ooze and Chloe stared in horror and guilt as she watched the man and the turtles she only met a minute ago morph into something else.

Yoshi stared at himself in confusion and fright of what had happened to him, then he looked down at the ground and saw that the turtles have also changed, crawling around and into each other.

"Let me go!"

Yoshi looked over and saw that Chloe was still struggling against the man that was restraining her and who was pulling her towards the other end of the alley, trying to take her away. Yoshi acted quick and tried to rush to save her, but he stumbled on his new rat legs before he finally managed to catch up to Chloe and the kidnapper. He grabbed the man's arm and twisted it, then he spun him around and tossed him right out of the alleyway; Chloe turned to look at Yoshi and covered her mouth in shock.

Her eyes began to fill with tears as they continued to stare at each other, but they were brought out of it when they heard a small squealing noise and they looked at the other end of the alley to see that the baby turtles were playing with each other, but one of them were crawling towards the open street. Chloe rushed quickly to pick up the baby turtle, glancing around to make sure the no one had saw her.

"W-we have to get you out of here" Chloe stuttered in fright and nervousness as she hurried to gather her papers and satchel, "Who knows when they'll be back or how many will be here"

Yoshi looked around to find a way to escape without anyone seeing them, then his eyes settled on a manhole cover. Once Chloe had gathered her belongings, she looked over to see Yoshi lift a manhole cover; she didn't say anything as she also knew that it might be the only way to escape quickly without anyone knowing or seeing them.

When Yoshi was halfway in the sewers, Chloe lowered the baby turtles to him and once she gave the last one to him, she crawled through the manhole as well and pulled the cover back over. Once they were both in the sewers, they stopped to take a breather, trying to comprehend on all that has just happened. Yoshi's new rat ears twitched when he heard a gasping noise and he looked over, with little light shining into the sewers, to see that Chloe was starting to cry.

Chloe looked over to see that Yoshi was looking at her and wiped her tears away, "I'm so sorry"

"About what?" Yoshi asked in confusion, wondering why she was apologizing to him.

"Look at you! You're a giant rat! And it's my fault; those people were after me and I feel like I got you caught in between"

"It wasn't your fault" Yoshi tried to reassure, "I wanted to help you"

"Probably because we only met for a brief moment and if I hadn't ran into you, you wouldn't have come after me and got… mutated into a giant rat"

"It was not because of our encounter; even if we didn't come across one another, I would have come to help you anyway" Chloe looked conflicted at first, but sighed and looked down at the ground, but then she noticed that the turtles were splashing around in the water.

"Oh, no, no" Chloe said as she reached down to picked two of the turtles up and handed them to Yoshi, "I don't think they should be playing in the sewer water" Chloe soon picked up the other two and looked around, "What should we do?"

"I do not know" Yoshi answered as he looked around, "Maybe we should find a different place to stay for now"

The two began to walk through the sewers in silence for a bit before Yoshi finally broke the silence.

"Why were those men after you?" Yoshi asked.

"You're guess is as good as mine" Chloe answered, "And… this isn't exactly the first time this happened to me"

"You mean you were kidnapped once before"

"Not once, but probably near a dozen and it was the same men every time, it's been happening since I was eight"

"Was it the reason why you've come to New York?"

Chloe glanced up at Yoshi nervously before she sighed a bit, "I think that since I've nearly been kidnapped and you've got mutated into a rat, there's no limit on how much we can know about each other on our first meeting; remember when I said I was from the country side of Alabama?" Yoshi nodded, "Well I used to own a farm, keyword 'used to'; my farm got repossessed last year because of the economy and I had to move here to live with a friend of mine"

"I am sorry to hear that"

"It's alright; even though I miss the serenity of country life, the city life pushes me to my best"

"At what?"

"I've always been interested in comic books, though I know it might be a bit ridiculous for an adult to be interested in comic books, so I wanted to become a graphic novelist; whenever I had free time at the farm, which was rarely, I would begin to plot out a comic. Now, being in the city, I can focus more on my career and hope to get my work published"

"I hope that you do well in your career"

"Thank you Mr. Hamato"

"Please, call me Splinter"

"Splinter?"

"Yes, it was a nickname that I was called back… back at home"

Chloe sensed sadness in his tone when he said that, "What's wrong?"

Splinter glanced over at Chloe before he looked ahead of them, "I don't feel like talking about it at the moment"

Chloe save a small smile of understanding, "Ok, but just know, with what just happened in that last few minutes, you can tell me anything and I can tell you anything, we're in this together"

Splinter looked at Chloe and smiled as well, "Thank you; you are the first friend I've made since I arrived in America"

"Aww, you making me blush"

The two adults laughed as they continued to walk through the sewers; but after a couple of confused turns, they somehow ended up in the subway. As they were walking next to the tracks, Chloe noticed that it was quiet.

"I think this might be an abandoned tunnel system" Chloe said, "I haven't heard a single train horn since we arrived"

"That is a good thing then" Splinter said, "That way, no one will discover us"

After walking for some time, they had decided to take a rest at the sidewalk of the tracks, they even dozed off for a while after the skirmish they faced. Chloe was the first to wake up, rubbing her tired eyes and looked at Splinter and the turtles; she became alarmed when she only counted three sleeping baby turtles.

"Splinter!" Chloe called out to in fright, shaking his shoulder to wake him up.

Splinter jolted a bit and stood up quickly, taking a stance as he thought they were in danger, "What is it?"

"One of the turtles crawled off" Chloe told as she stood up as well.

Splinter looked down and counted only three turtles as well; he looked around for a bit before he started to sniff the air with his new sense of smell.

Splinter then picked up two of the turtles, without waking them up and handed them to Chloe while he grabbed the last one, "I know where he went"

"How?"

"I'm starting to get used to my new body and its new senses"

Chloe followed Splinter through the tunnels, wondering how the baby turtle could get that far; after walking through the tunnels for a few minutes, they had come across a train ticket entrance.

"There he is" Splinter said when he looked over the entrance to see the missing baby turtle sleeping in the middle of a pit that was right across from them. As they passed through the entrance, Splinter walked straight to the baby turtle while Chloe looked around at the place, thinking.

"This place is quite interesting" Chloe spoke, walking over to stand next to Splinter.

Splinter then took a look around the place, "Yes, it is"

As Chloe looked around, she looked at the sleeping turtle that had found the place, smiling at the light dust of freckles on the baby turtle's cheek now that she was getting a real good look at him.

"Curious little thing" Chloe said with a small laugh, "I think he just found us a place to stay for a while"

* * *

A few hours had passed since Splinter and Chloe arrived at the new location in the train tunnels and the baby turtles were now wide awake; Chloe and Splinter held one turtle each while the other two just crawled around.

"This is so incredible" Chloe said as she continued to rub her hand up and down against the green eyed turtle's shell, who was clinging tightly to her, "They act so much like baby's, yet they're turtles; I wonder how that's possible?"

"There are many mystery's in life that we might not be able to know now, but will sometime in the future" Splinter said as he continued to make sure that the freckled turtle he was holding wouldn't tug on his whiskers or beard.

"You sound like a professor in psychology"

"I excelled in the art of ninjutsu and have developed a wise and intellectual mind"

"I've heard about ninjutsu before, that's amazing that you're a master of it; this is quite exciting!"

Splinter chuckled a bit and they continued to sit with the turtles, watching over them. After some time, Chloe looked over and saw one of the turtles crawling through her satchel; Chloe reached over to place her hand on Splinter's to quietly get his attention and pointed over to the curious turtle.

"The turtles are curious little things" Chloe whispered. They watched as the turtle crawl back out of the bag and had a book in his hand and opened it up. "Oh my goodness, he's smart!" Chloe whispered excitedly.

When Chloe got a look at the title of the book the turtle was holding, she got an idea; when she tried to pry the turtle holding her off, he was reluctant to let go, which she found adorable and hugged him before she reached over and pulled the reading turtle into her lap. But when she placed the reading turtle in her lap, the green eyed turtle looked over at his brother and pushed him out of Chloe's lap.

Chloe couldn't help but let out a shocked laugh, "I don't know whether to find that adorable or rude" Chloe then lifted the green eyed so that he was face to face with her, "That was very rude, you shouldn't do that to your brother" Chloe scolded softly.

The green eyed turtle looked at her for a bit before he reached over to touch her face for a while before he wrapped his arms around her neck and continued to cling to her. Chloe sighed in defeat before hugging the baby turtle back and looked over at Splinter, "It's way too hard to stay mad at them for long"

Splinter smiled a bit in understanding as he let the freckled turtle he was holding tug on his whiskers; he looked down at the baby turtle that was pushed out of Chloe's lap and saw that he continued to read the book he found, then he picked him up and placed him in his lap and looked at the title of the book.

"'History of Renaissance Art'" Splinter read out loud.

"Yeah, I like to research a bit about art to help me in my career" Chloe said and scooted closer to Splinter to look at the book the turtle continued to read, then she got an idea, "Maybe we should give the turtles names so we don't have to keep calling them turtles"

Splinter stroked his beard in thought before he held the book with the turtle, as he was reluctant to give to book up, to look at the names in the book. "Which names do you think would be best to give to the turtles?" Splinter asked as he continued to look through the book.

"I heard that some babies are responsive when you call out a name that they might like, maybe we should try that" Chloe suggested.

"Perhaps" Splinter looked at the names for a bit before he picked one at random, "Masolino" none of the turtles seemed to respond to the name, so he tried another one, "Masaccio" none of the turtles resonded, "Leonardo" Splinter felt a tug on his furry arm and he looked behind him to see one of the turtles with blue eyes sitting there, looking up at him.

"Leonardo" Chloe called out this time and concealed her laughter when the baby turtle laughed, "He seems to like that name"

"Let's try another name" Splinter said and continued to look through the book, "Giovanni" none of the turtles responded.

"Let me pick a name" Chloe said excitedly and leaned in closer to look at the book before she picked out a name, "Raphael" The turtle that was clinging to Chloe had pulled back to look at her with a curious gaze. "Raphael" Chloe called again and the turtle reached over to stroke her cheek, "He likes the name" Chloe and Splinter then continued to look through the book and continued to call out any names that the turtles would respond to.

"Paolo" Chloe called out, but no response came.

"Nicola" Splinter tried, but there was no response.

"Giusto" no response.

"Donatello" The turtle that was holding the book had looked up at the two adults with interest and they looked at each other with a smile. "Donatello" Splinter called out again. This time, the baby turtle smiled big and wide, exposing the gap that was between the turtles teeth.

"Now we just have to name this excited little turtle" Chloe said, laughing a bit as the freckled baby was now tugging on Splinter's ear.

Chloe looked through the book for a bit before she found a name, "Michelangelo" the baby looked over at Chloe and she smiled, "Michelangelo"

The baby squealed in laughter and had tried to reach over to Chloe, but not knowing how to walk yet, he had fallen against Donatello and knocked the book out of his hand, causing him to start crying.

"Oh, Donatello" Chloe cooed with a chuckle and reached over to give the book back to Donatello and he immediately stopped crying once he started reading the book again, "We've gonna have our hands full with these roughhousers"

"We?" Splinter asked in surprise.

"Yes, we" Chloe said a bit teasingly and placed her hand on Splinter's shoulders and gave him a reassuring smile, "Like I said before, we're in this together"

Splinter then gave a grateful smile, "You are a great friend Chloe" Splinter then chuckled a bit at Raphael as he snuggled his head into Chloe's neck affectionately, "And a wonderful mother"

Chloe laughed a bit too and she hugged Raphael, "I've always dreamed of a family, but I just never suspected my children to be turtles" Chloe then placed a kiss on top of Raphael's head, "But I'll love them either way"

Splinter smiled at the sight, but felt a pain erupt in his heart at the thought of the loss of his wife and daughter back in Japan; but then he decided to think of the situation he was in as another chance of a new family, something that he gained at the loss he had received and made a decision that he would do all that he can to protect his new family and friend.

* * *

Splinter was exploring around the new place that was now being made a home for him, Chloe and the turtles, seeing what can go where and of its use while Chloe watched over the turtles.

"Uh Splinter" Splinter looked over to see Chloe standing at the entrance of what was to be made the kitchen and looked to see Raphael still clinging to her, but he looked to be trying to eat her hair. "I think that the turtles are getting hungry; Raphael's trying to eat my hair while Michelangelo was trying to eat the laces of my boots"

Splinter began to stroke his beard in thought, "What do you think they eat?"

"Well, since they're still babies, I think we should get some baby food" Chloe suggested, then walked over and pulled as hard as she can to pry Raphael off of her and handed him to Splinter once she succeeded after a few failed attempts, "I can walk to the grocery store and pick up some food for them and us"

Just as Chloe was about to walk away, she felt an iron grip on her bicep and she looked back to see Splinter giving her a very stern look.

"You can't go back up to the surface" Splinter ordered firmly.

Chloe looked at him at confusion, "Why? The turtles need food"

"It's only been a few hours since your attempted kidnapping, they could still be looking for you now that they know where you are"

"I've been in this kind of situation before and I've managed to elude and escape those kidnappers"

"It's too much of a risk"

Chloe looked into Splinter's eyes with slight worriment, but then she got this strange sense coming from him, a sense of fear and concern and she felt like she understood why he wasn't letting her go back up to the surface. Chloe pried Splinter's hand from her arm and held it with both of hers and looked him in the eyes with reassurance.

"I'm also scared" Chloe told, "This kidnapping was too close of a call, even I don't want to go back up to the streets, not without you at least because then I'd know I'll be safe, but we have to take a little risk for the ones we care about and I care so much about you and the turtles, I have to go"

Splinter wanted to say something, but he couldn't think of a good reason to argue about something that was true. "I would suggest that you come with me so that both of us don't have to worry, but then no one would be here to watch over the turtles and we can't take them with us because I don't think you'll be able to watch them and watch me at the same time"

Splinter then began to think again before he seemed to have an idea and handed Raphael over to Chloe again, who instantly started to cling to her again. "I'll be right back" Splinter said and left the kitchen, leaving Chloe in confusion about where he was heading off too.

An hour and a half had passed since Splinter left and Chloe was sitting with the turtles, who she fed a little of the apple slices she had packed, glad that when the turtles were mutated, they grew teeth. Chloe then heard a grunting noise and she turned to look towards the entrance and saw Splinter walk in, carrying about four wooden beams on his shoulder.

She watched as Splinter walked across the living room, then placed the beams on the floor in front of the kitchen before walking over to Chloe and the turtles and picked two of them up. Chloe followed his lead and picked two of the turtles up as well and followed him to the barricaded kitchen and they placed them on the floor in the kitchen.

"They will be safe here while we go out to retrieve a few supplies" Splinter told.

Chloe looked down and smiled at Raphael, who was trying to climb the beams, but would just fall back down to the floor. When he looked up at Chloe, he held his arms out and Chloe couldn't help but gush a bit.

"Oh sweetie, we'll be back as soon as possible" Chloe said as she reached over to grab Raphael's hand and gave them a small squeeze before pulling away. Chloe and Splinter were soon walking through the tunnels to make their way back into the sewers.

"You know, while we're out grabbing some things, maybe we should stop by my apartment first so I can change, then we can head to your place to gather your belongings to bring down here" Chloe suggested. Splinter had slowed down a bit before he stopped, Chloe stopping as well as she saw this look of sadness in his face.

"Yes, you are right" Splinter said and continued to walk, "There is nothing left for me above"

Chloe rushed a bit to catch up with Splinter and grabbed his arm, "I know you said that you didn't want to talk about anything from you past at the moment, but it's starting to concern me about what you said just now"

Splinter looked down at Chloe and saw that she was truly concerned for him, "I'm afraid to talk about it at this moment as it's a wound that I'm afraid won't heal anytime soon"

"Sometimes, it's best to talk the pain out to someone who can be compassionate about the way you feel and I'm willing to wait until you're ready, but if you keep saying things like that, it makes me feel like I can't do anything about it and that makes me feel… dejected"

Splinter then felt guilty about keeping Chloe at a distance when they've been through together and that she was his first friend since arriving to New York and that she was actually very understanding, smart, brave woman.

"Chloe, I will tell you about what has happened in my past that is affecting me now" Splinter told.

"Are you sure? Because like I said before, you can tell me when you're ready"

"Perhaps expressing myself about how I feel to a close friend, I shall feel better about the situation that I am in now; you have told me about what has happened to you in your past and I feel that it isn't fair to not tell you much about myself"

Chloe looked up at Splinter with surprise before she smiled and they continued to walk through the tunnels for a bit before they came to Chloe's apartment. Chloe had climbed out through the manhole, cautious about her surroundings before she made her way up to her apartment while Splinter waited anxiously for her return.

It took longer than he thought and he was tempted to go up there to see if she was alright, but then he heard footsteps coming his way. His first thought was that it was Chloe, but he still had to be cautious and he hid around the corner of the sewers and peered around the corner to see someone drop down.

"Splinter?" Splinter came around the corner and was a bit surprised to see that it was Chloe that dropped down into the sewers and she looked completely different.

"You look…" Splinter trailed off a bit at how different Chloe looked from when they first met.

"Yeah, I know, but those clothes you saw me wear is what I usually wear when I'm walking through the streets because thugs like to take advantage of people who don't seem to belong in the city, but these are the clothes that I wear all the time, they are much more comfortable and something that makes me feel like I'm at home" Chloe explained.

"I think that this style looks better on you"

"Thanks; let's head to your place now"

The two soon made their way towards Splinter's apartment and they both had to sneak up through the fire escape into Splinter's apartment room. Once they were inside, they turned on the lights and Chloe was quite impressed and awed with the Japanese designs and décor of the apartment.

Chloe began to explore the apartment while Splinter changed into some clothing, but then she came across something interesting: a shrine with a single picture of Splinter next to a woman who held a baby in her hands.

"She was my wife" Chloe jumped a bit from surprise and turned to look at Splinter, who was now wearing a red robe, "And my daughter"

Chloe looked back at the picture, "They're very beautiful" Chloe's thoughts began to run and she began to look around the apartment with curiosity.

"They are not here" Splinter told, "They have… passed away"

Chloe looked at Splinter with sorrow, "What're they're names?"

"My wife's name was Tang Shen and my daughter's name was Miwa"

"What happened?"

"It had happened in Japan with someone who I thought was my brother, who had also loved Tang Shen, Oroku Saki. He had let his jealousy and hatred consume him and he had attacked me in my own home and in that battle, he had caused a candle to fall and… my home had set fire and crumbled around me, taking the life of my beloved and I lost my daughter"

Chloe had tears filling the brim of her eyes, she felt his sadness and pain at the loss of his family and of his life. Splinter was a bit surprised when Chloe had suddenly hugged him, but he smiled at her attempt to comfort him and he hugged her back.

"You do not have to feel sad for me Chloe" Splinter tried to reassure, "Though I may have lost many things, I have also gained many things as well, a home, a family-" Splinter then pushed Chloe back so that he could look at her, "and a friend"

Chloe then smiled and they continued to pack up Splinter's belongings and placed them in the sewers. They had decided to take his belongings back to the home later after Chloe had picked up some groceries for them and the turtles. So they spent the entire night setting up the abandoned subway station as a new home for Splinter and the turtles, leaving Chloe too exhausted to go back to her own home.; that and she was a bit afraid to go back home just yet after the near kidnapping and that Raphael still continued to cling to her.

Then the other turtles got into a clinging mood with her as well, so she had no other choice but to stay, but she wanted to stay anyways as she loved the turtles too much to leave just yet. She had to be careful about the way she slept as one of the turtles was hugging her legs together, one of them was hugging her waist, another of them had his arms wrapped around her neck and the last one was clinging to her arm. Splinter slept close by so he could watch over them, wanting to be near his new family and to protect them from any harm that could come after them.

 **Alright, first chapter! I hope you liked it because I'm pretty excited about writing it; also, most of the chapters are probably going to be shorter than this one. Thank you for reading.  
**


	3. Year One: Generosity, Repayment, Bonding

A few months had passed since the accident with Splinter and the turtles; Chloe still felt slightly guilty about what has happened to them, so she did what she could to make their living arrangements more homey and livable. She had brought in a crib so that the turtles could have a more comfortable place to sleep and a space heater to keep them all warm as it got pretty cold in the new place; she was glad that the outlets in the place were still working.

One day, Splinter had walked into the new kitchen and saw Chloe, in her normal clothes, lying under the sink, apparently fixing it.

"What are you doing Chloe?" Splinter asked.

"Arranging some of the pipes so that we can get some fresh water in here" Chloe explained as she continued her work.

Splinter looked around the kitchen and saw that there were other things that weren't there before. "When did we get a refrigerator and a microwave?"

"Since last night"

Splinter walked over to the fridge and opened it up, surprised to see that it was working despite it looking a bit beaten up, "Did you fix the refrigerator?"

"Yeah; I got it and the microwave from the junkyard because I can't have the employees attaching a refrigerator here and seeing baby turtles and a giant rat"

"I have no idea that you were a handywoman"

"Well, when you live on a farm that's a bit isolated, you gotta have a knowledge on home repairs" Chloe soon crawled out from under the sink, wiping her greasy hands on a rag before standing up and tried out the sink, happy to see clear water pouring out.

"That is quite impressive" Splinter complimented.

"Thanks; there were times on the farm when nasty rust would just start gushing out and I obviously couldn't drink that, let alone bathe in it. Which reminds me; I just finished installing the new head shower and spout in the bathroom, along with another sink and toilet and some lavatory supplies, so now you and the turtles can start taking baths… but I'm mainly talking about you taking a bath because you smell like a wet dog"

Splinter raised a questioning eyebrow while Chloe smirked a bit, but then she yelped out in pain and surprise when she felt a sharp whip smack against her leg. She was confused at first as she looked at where the pain suddenly erupted, but then she thought she sensed some kind of movement and looked down at the floor to see Splinter's tail move back behind him. It all came together and she looked at Splinter with an accusing look while she just smiled a bit.

"I see someone's adapted to their new appendages" Chloe said in a scolding tone, but then she started to laugh, "I can't believe you popped me like that! What's wrong with you?"

"Because I know how to deal with smart-mouths" Splinter teased a bit.

Chloe scoffed, "Please, calling me a smart-mouth is a compliment to me rather than an insult" Chloe and Splinter had smiled at each other for a bit before they were brought out of it by a small squealing noise.

"They boys are up from their nap" Chloe said, then chuckled a bit as she started to pull Splinter with her, "Come on, you can use your tail trick to keep the boys from trying to drown each other, they're roughhousing is getting really serious"

Chloe and Splinter had gathered the turtles and taken them to the fairly-new constructed bathroom. Once the bath was filled with clean warm water and bubbles, the two adults started to clean the turtles. Leonardo and Donatello were somewhat behaving quietly, they would occasionally splash the others, start crying or would squirm a lot, but they stayed still once they got used to it.

Michelangelo and Raphael, on the other hand, were chaotic; they would splash the water around so much that it got on the floor and the adults, they nearly got suds in the other's eyes and Raphael was partially fighting against Splinter, trying to get to Chloe while she tried to keep Michelangelo from eating the suds.

"Come on Michelangelo, the bubbles are meant for cleaning, not eating" Chloe said as she pulled his hand away from his mouth. Michelangelo laughed and one of his hands flew back, flinging the bubbles right at Chloe, but she managed to close her eyes before it splashed her.

She blew away some of the bubbles from her face, laughing a bit, "You sure are squirmy when you get up" Chloe felt something rub against her eye to wipe away the soap and she looked to see Splinter helping her.

"I think that you need both eyes to clean up the boys" Splinter joked as he pulled his sleeve away.

Chloe smiled, "Thank you"

As they continued to clean the turtles, Splinter began to think a bit about how much Chloe has done for him and the turtles in such a time of crisis. He tried to think of a way to show Chloe his gratitude about helping them out, but he couldn't think of a good enough gift to present her with.

"Chloe, might I ask what kind of farm you had owned?" Splinter asked as they began to dry the turtles with the towels Chloe had also bought for them.

"Well, I mainly just owned animals, not to sell off, but for product reason, like cows, chickens and sheep; but I also like to garden, I find it peaceful, so I started to grow a little garden in my backyard, which was a bit hard to keep track of or in piece when the animals got into it, but I still loved doing it" Chloe told as she played peek-a-boo with Raphael.

Splinter then got an idea of how he could repay Chloe for her generosity.

* * *

For the past few days, Chloe has noticed that Splinter has been acting a bit secretive, she thought nothing of it at first, but she started to get suspicious whenever she tried to talk to Splinter when he was in a room that was near four other rooms – that would later become the turtles own room when they got older – and he kept her from going in there.

"Splinter" Chloe spoke as she sat across from him while they were feeding the turtles, "What are you doing in the back of the lair?"

"What do you mean Chloe?" Splinter asked calmly.

"You've been spending a lot of time in that back room and whenever I tried going in there, you keep me out; what are you doing in there?"

"I am working on a project"

"What kind of project that you're keeping it such a secret from me?"

"I promise you Chloe that once I am finish, I will present it to you"

Chloe sighed a bit before smiling a little, "Ok, but I'm holding you on that promise"

Splinter chuckled a bit and they continued to feed the turtles and go about their day as usual. Two days after the talk Chloe had with Splinter, was a bit confused of why he was standing in front of the entrance when she came through the turnstile.

"Yes?" Chloe said.

"I am finished with my project" Splinter told as he smiled.

"Oh, that's great, I can't wait to see it"

Splinter then held out a strip piece of cloth to Chloe and she looked at him confusingly. "It is a surprise"

"Um, ok" Chloe took the piece of cloth and tied it around her eyes and Splinter began to lead her into the room that was in the back.

"Hold out your hands" Splinter asked once they were in the room.

Chloe did what she was told and she felt something being placed in her hands and it felt like a few packets. Splinter then removed the blindfold and Chloe looked in her hands to see that she was holding a few packets of various types of seeds. When she looked around the room, she saw that it was lit by the sun that was shining in through a grate just above them and there were a few hand-built wooden bins that were filled with soil in rows and she figured it all out.

"Oh Splinter, you didn't have to do this" Chloe asked in surprise, but felt incredibly happy.

"I wanted to; for everything that you have done for me and the boys, I wanted to repay you for your kindness to us"

Chloe smiled and hugged Splinter, "This is the nicest thing anyone has done for me"

Splinter then hugged Chloe back, "You are my friend Chloe, something that I never thought I could have again"

"Yeah, you're pretty lucky to have me"

Both adults laughed a bit and while Splinter went to watch over the turtles, Chloe decided to start working on her new garden and while she was beginning, she started to think about the last few months she spent with Splinter and the turtles, about how close she was with them and she thought of an idea of how to symbolize that bond she made with them all.

* * *

Splinter took the time to meditate while the turtles were taking their nap, but he was brought out of it when he felt a tap on his shoulder and when he opened his eyes, he saw that Chloe was standing next to him and she had a smile on her face.

"I've been doing some thinking" Chloe said as she kneeled down next to Splinter.

"About what?"

"About these last few months, then these last few days, about you and the boys and about what we've done for each other; so I was thinking that maybe" Chloe held out her hand, which was curled into a fist at first before she opened it up to reveal a seed in her hand, "We can do something together"

"What do you mean?"

"I've noticed that there was a patch of dirt in here that wasn't being used and maybe we can grow this tree together; it can symbolize our friendship and our family, and as it grows, so shall our bond"

Splinter looked at the seed before he smiled happily and placed his hand over the seed and in Chloe's hand, "That is a very considerate idea Chloe"

Chloe and Splinter were soon beginning to plant the seed in the patch of dirt that was in the dojo.

"You know" Chloe spoke as she poured some water onto the buried seed, "You're my first friend that actually know things about me that I wouldn't usually tell anyone else and it feels nice to have someone completely understand me"

"I could say the same thing, you are the first friend I made since my arrival and who is very thoughtful and generous after the unfortunate event that has occurred only seconds after meeting for the first time"

Chloe and Splinter looked at each other with a smile before hugging each other, grateful to have each other as friends during such a time in their lives.


	4. Year One: Birthday, Anniversary, Family

Chloe was rushing around the kitchen, preparing for the most important day in her life: the turtles first birthday. She was practically running all around New York to find gifts and preparations for the boys birthday as it was their first and she thought of it as the most important moment of their lives, so her day was packed with errands.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Splinter asked as he entered the kitchen.

"Uhh, do you think you can set the table with the table cloth and put up the decorations?" Chloe asked as she stirred a bowl of icing, "The cakes already in the oven and its almost finished and I'm making some whipped cream icing for it, the boys will love it"

"Why don't you take a break?" Splinter suggested as he unwrapped the table cloth from the plastic bag, "You've been running yourself into the ground with all you've been doing this morning"

"Well it's a very special occasion, it's the boys first birthday and that happens only once in your life, so I have a good reason to run myself into the ground" Chloe argued, "Everything else was easy, but I had to find an instant camera, which is very hard to find in this day and age, so I could take pictures of the boys first birthday and then I had to find the perfect gifts for the boys; and plus this day also marks another special occasion"

Splinter heard a change of tone in Chloe's voice when she said that last part, "What do you mean?"

"Think about it: today is the boys birthday, not really their actual birthday, but really the day that they became what they are now"

Splinter had then caught up on where this conversation was heading, "And today is also the day our friendship flourished"

"I know, can you believe it?" Chloe said as she stood in front of Splinter, "It's been a whole year since we met and everything's changed; it still feels like it was only yesterday"

"Yes, I know"

Splinter and Chloe continued their work around the kitchen to prepare for the boys birthday and once they were finished, they brought them in and started the celebration. Chloe laughed when the boys ate their cake; as usual, Leonardo and Donatello ate their cake just fine, but Raphael and Michelangelo were just wolfing down their food, getting it everywhere and Chloe took pictures of it all.

Then once they cleaned up the boys, they helped opened up the presents Chloe got for them and they loved the toys, though this time, it was Raphael who was trying to take Leonardo's toy, but Splinter was there to break it up. Chloe took many pictures of the boys while they played and even some with Splinter in them.

Then when the day was coming to an end and the boys were starting to get tired, Chloe decided to take one last photo; Chloe and Splinter tried to keep the turtles close while Chloe tried to take a photo of them all. Then once Splinter had put the turtles to bed, he turned to see Chloe walk in with a tray of tea and they sat down next to the sprout that was growing healthily.

"I can't believe how much the boys grew in one year" Chloe said as she poured the tea into the cups, "They're beginning to crawl a lot more"

"Soon they'll be able to walk" Splinter said as he picked up his cup, "And once they gain their footing, I was thinking that they should start their training"

"Training for what?"

"For ninjutsu"

"But they just turned one"

"They won't begin with excessive training for a couple of years, they should start with cardio and basic exercises"

"Was that what it was like for you when you started to walk?"

"Yes, I learned how to do a back flip when I turned three"

"Wow, that's quite amazing" Chloe then picture up the stack of photos she took that day and looked at them with fondness, "Training, wow, that makes it seem like they're older; I almost don't want them to grow up so fast"

"You do not have to worry so much Chloe, it is necessary for them to train so that they can protect themselves"

"From what, they won't be able to go up to the surface for a long time"

"They can't go up to the surface"

"But they can't stay down here for the rest of their lives Splinter, when they start to get older, they're gonna be more adventurous and curious about what's life like above"

Splinter sighed deeply, "That won't be for a long time and with training, comes discipline, so they will learn how to control their wild behavior and curiosity of the world"

Chloe laughed a bit, "I think it will be in vain because they're boys and they're pretty rambunctious now and the older they get, the more active they'll be; so all we have to do is prepare ourselves for when the time comes"

Soon, the two continued to drink their tea as they looked through the pictures Chloe had taken, laughing a bit at some of the funny ones of the boys. Then Splinter picked up the one picture that had Chloe in it and it was the one that had all of them in it.

"This is the only one of you" Splinter told as he held up the picture.

"Oh, yeah, probably should've let you take camera duty halfway through the party" Chloe said as she took the picture into her hand, then smiled a bit, "But it's ok, I'm with you and all the boys, so it's the best one of me with my family"

Splinter took the picture back to look at it for a bit before he stood up, "I will be right back"

Chloe was a bit confused as she watched Splinter walk into his room before going back to look at the pictures again. It was only a couple of minutes before she watched Splinter come back into the room and stand at the shrine that had a picture of him when he was human with his wife and daughter and then placed something on the shelf below it.

Curious, Chloe stood up and walked to stand next to him to see what he placed on the shelf; she was surprised, but happy when she saw that Splinter placed their family picture in a frame.

"We sure are a strange family" Chloe joked, but then reached up to hook her arm with Splinter's and leaned her head on his shoulder, "But we'll be a happy one too"

Splinter looked down at Chloe, seeing her smile so contently, then looked back up at the photo to see her exact same smile and smiled as well, "Yes, we will be"


	5. Year Two: Walking, Talking, Interests

Chloe was in the dojo, standing behind Leonardo while holding his hands up, slowly teaching him to walk. The boys were beginning to pull or stand up by themselves, but they still needed help learning how to take the steps.

"Are you getting this?" Chloe asked Splinter, who was standing in front of the two filming with an old videotape camera, which Chloe had bought when she saw that the turtles were trying to start walking.

"Yes, but I think that we might run out of tape on practice steps" Splinter told, "Try letting go, if he falls, he will learn to pick himself up and try again"

"They still can't yet comprehend on what's edible or not, you can't expect them to learn things on their own at such a young age; they'll need guidance on almost everything in life, even when they grow old and learn to figure things out on their own, they'll still come to us for help on other matters and it's our job as parents to guide them through life, no matter how little or big"

"I know Chloe, that was implied"

"Not heavily"

The two continued to help teach Leonardo how to walk first as Raphael was still in a clinging phase with Chloe, Donatello would rather sit and continue to learn to read and Michelangelo was rolling around on his shell laughing. Chloe decided to take Splinter's advice and let go of Leonardo's hands, letting him have a bit of independence.

Leonardo had stood still for a bit before he started to take a step, but when he took another, he started to wobble before falling to his knees and hands. Chloe had wanted to help him, but decided against it to see what Leonardo would do on his own. She was glad to see that he didn't start crying and became excited when he started to stand on his own again and tried walking again. Chloe held in her excitement when Leonardo started to actually walk, slowly and on unsteady feet, but he was learning.

"He's walking! He's walking!" Chloe gushed, trying not to jump as Raphael was clinging to her leg.

Splinter looked at Raphael and thought of an idea, "Here, take the camera, I think it's time for Raphael to learn how to walk next"

"Great, now he'll start chasing and clinging to me" Chloe joked, but took the camera while Splinter pried Raphael off her leg.

Splinter stood a couple of feet away from Chloe and placed Raphael on his legs; when he tried to walk to get to Chloe, he fell after the first couple of steps and then tried to crawl towards her, but Splinter grabbed and placed him back on his feet. He had to repeat this action a couple of times before Raphael finally started to walk, though quickly and unsteadily, he still made it to Chloe.

"Yay Raphael, you did it!" Chloe cheered as she kneeled down and hugged him.

Next, while Leonardo continued to walk around on his own and Chloe had to move around constantly to help Raphael practice walking, Splinter had set the camera up on a stand that Chloe had also bought and made his way towards Donatello. Splinter knew that Donatello wouldn't participate in the session, so he had to use a bit of extreme methods and taken his book.

Donatello had pouted when his book was taken, but then tried to start walking to get it back; he stumbled a few times, but he remained on his feet and soon began to start walking.

Soon, it was Michelangelo's turn to start walking, but he was more of a challenge than his brothers and both Chloe and Splinter had to help him learn. At first, when he was placed on his feet, he would instantly fall back down on his back and roll around laughing; he would do this every time they placed him on his feet, he wasn't trying at all.

"We sure have our work cut out for Michelangelo" Chloe said as she continued to run around to help Raphael practice.

"He needs to focus his energy more on his training" Splinter said as he also continued to walk around with Donatello's book in his hands to get him to walk as well.

Chloe began to think for a bit before she made her way towards Michelangelo again and kneeled down to him; she made sure that Raphael had his arms wrapped around her neck before standing up, helping Michelangelo to his feet as well. Chloe held his hands and slowly began to walk backwards, helping Michelangelo to start trying to walk.

"Maybe Michelangelo just needs more interaction in his training to help him learn" Chloe told as Michelangelo was starting to walk more easily.

Soon enough, Michelangelo suddenly started to walk faster, practically running while laughing before he suddenly crashed into Leonardo. Lucky, neither of them cried and they both stood up and continued to walk and run around together. Donatello had looked over at the two after hearing them laugh for a while and began to make his way towards the duo and started to play with them. Raphael was also watching them all play and then tried to climb down from Chloe's back; she felt him trying to get down and then placed him on the ground herself and watched happily as he rushed off to play with his brother.

"Ahh, he's not clinging to me anymore" Chloe said a bit sadly.

"You say that for now" Splinter chuckled.

Chloe chuckled a bit too, "I will always love it when they cling to me, I just have to learn how to cope with it when they won't do it in long periods of time"

Splinter and Chloe then continued to watch, while relaxing, as the boys continued to play with each as they were walking, happy and a bit nervous at how fast they were starting to grow.

* * *

Chloe was taking a nap in her room at the lair and she kept feeling something shaking her and she thought she was hearing something, but it sounded hazy as she was still groggy as she started to wake up. Soon, she sat up, stretching and rubbing her eyes to get rid of the sleep and looked down to see that Raphael was the one who was shaking her.

"What is it honey?" Chloe asked sleepily, brushing her hand through her hair as she yawned.

"Mama" Chloe's eyes widen a bit and she looked at Raphael, wondering if she heard what she heard.

"W-what was that?"

"Mama" Raphael spoke again.

Chloe had to cover her mouth to keep from squealing in excitement; she then tossed the covers off of her, picked Raphael up and rushed out of the room and into the dojo, where Splinter was meditating while the other were running around him.

"Splinter!" Chloe called out as she approached him, "Splinter, you'll never believe what just happened!"

"What happened?" Splinter asked as he stood up.

"Ok Raphael, tell daddy what you said before" Chloe said.

"Mama" Raphael spoke.

"Can you believe it? He said his first word!"

"It is quite amazing" Raphael kept saying 'mama' and they were both excited that he said his first word, so they then tried to get the others to say their first words as well.

"Ok Michelangelo" Chloe said as she had him sit in her lap, "Say mama" Michelangelo didn't say it and was trying to reach up to grab Chloe's cap, "Can you say daddy?"

"I think that's too complicated a word for Michelangelo" Donatello said as he was sitting across from the others reading another book that Chloe had brought.

Donatello had begun to speak just as he began to walk and it was expected as he was always grabbing a book that Chloe would bring with her whenever she came for a visit and when he started to form more sentences, he asked for her to bring books he could learn from.

"Give your brother a break Donatello, he'll get it eventually, Raphael has already said his first word"

"It's a two syllable word with the same sounding word"

Chloe raised a questioning eyebrow at her son, "Are you sassing your mother Donatello?"

Donatello tensed a bit and he looked over at her with an apologetic look, "N-no mother"

"Come on Michelangelo, I know you can do it" Chloe said as she lifted Michelangelo up from his sides, "Come on, say mama"

Michelangelo didn't say anything and continued to try and reach for Chloe's cap; Chloe sighed a bit as she placed Michelangelo back in her lap and looked over at Splinter with Leonardo in his lap.

"How are you doing with Leonardo?"

"Leonardo, tell your mother what you just said" Splinter said.

"Daddy" Leonardo spoke.

"Awww, his first word!" Chloe cooed, then looked down at Michelangelo and sighed softly before hugging him, "It'll be ok Michelangelo, you'll get it soon" Chloe then placed a kiss on his head, "Love you" Chloe was surprised when she mumble and she pulled Michelangelo back to look at him, "D-did you say something?"

"L-love… you" Michelangelo said slowly.

Chloe looked completely surprised before she started to cry from joy, "Michelangelo said his first words and he said that he loved me!"

Chloe then hugged tightly, laughing in happiness while Splinter smiled in contentment at how wonderful and happy his new family was.

* * *

Months had passed and the turtles were beginning to form more and more sentences and vocabulary. Right now, Chloe was sitting in the living room, continuing to work on her first graphic novel after the months she spent putting it off, but she had good reason to place it on hold.

"What're you doing mommy?" Chloe looked up to see Michelangelo standing behind her, smiling so cutely that it distracted her from her work.

"I'm working on my graphic novel" Chloe answered.

"What's that?"

"It's a term for comic book"

"And what's that?"

Chloe laughed a little, "It's a book with pictures, like the ones I read for you at bed time"

"Can I see?!" Michelangelo asked excitedly.

"Of course sweetie" Chloe picked Michelangelo up and placed him in her lap and let him look at her script, but during it all, Michelangelo kept asking what the words were on the papers, since not yet learned how to read just yet.

"Mother" Chloe looked up to see Donatello standing behind her, "Can you get me some more books please?"

Chloe looked both surprised and amazed, "I just brought down every book I own yesterday; did you already read them all?"

"Yes"

"Mother!" Leonardo soon came running into the room, holding a wooden sword in his arm and looking very excited, "Can I play with this?"

"Sweetie, a sword is not to be played with and shouldn't you be asking your father, it's his" Chloe told.

"I did, but he told me that I should also have your permission to train with it" Leonardo told, but then Raphael soon came running in and then he tried to take the wooden sword away from his brother.

"No, I get to train with the sword first, tell him mom!" Raphael argued.

"No, I asked her first!" Leonardo shouted as he pulled the sword.

"Mother, can you go get me some more books please?" Donatello asked over the shouting of his two older brothers.

"Mommy, what does this word mean?" Michelangelo asked.

Chloe squeezed her eyes shut as she rubbed her temple at the oncoming headache from all the shouting and requests. She then placed her fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly, causing the turtles to finally become quiet.

"We need order in this home if you wish for me to provide you your requests, alright?" Chloe told firmly.

"Yes mother" the turtles answered.

"Ok, first, Donatello, what kind of books do you wish for me to get for you?"

"Can you get me a biology, chemistry, mathematics and science book please?" Donatello asked.

Chloe was a bit surprised by his requests, "Ok, I'll get you these book if you help Michelangelo learn how to read this comic book"

"Yes mother" Donatello said and taken over Chloe's position.

Chloe then reached over and took the wooden from the two arguing turtles, "Follow me boys, we'll settle this with your father" Chloe and the boys soon entered Splinter's room, where he was meditating, but was brought out of it when he heard someone come into his room.

"The boys are arguing about whose going first in their training, which I give them permission to participate" Chloe said, "When did they start taking an interest in ninjustsu?"

"This morning when they saw me practicing" Splinter answered as he stood up and in front of the three, "But I need to train with them individually"

"Well think of it as a challenge or multi-tasking, I can't choose who goes first right now because I got to go out to get Donatello some books, which are practically at high school level, he's taken a real interest in anything involving science or technology"

"That is quite amazing"

"Anyway, can you just teach them equally? Because this kind of thing, about who gets to go first in whatever, can cause sibling rivalry, which we shouldn't have to deal with now until way, way later"

Splinter began to think a bit before he walked out of the room, taking the sword that Chloe was holding, "Alright boys, before we begin training with the randori, we should work out some exercises before your training"

Chloe soon went to go change and gather some things for her errand run and she started to make her way through the living room towards the exit.

"Mommy!" Michelangelo's voice called out and she looked towards him, "Can you get me some more comic books?"

"So you're really liking those comic books, huh Michelangelo?"

"Yeah, they're really i-in…ter-teresting"

Chloe laughed a little, "Alright sweetie, I'll get you some comic books"

"Thank you"

Chloe smiled happily at how the turtles are taking a liking to things that speak to them, glad to see that the turtles are becoming strong individuals, knowing that when the time comes, they'll be able to face the world above.


	6. Year Three: Training, Gift, Stubborn

Chloe would tense every now and then as the boys advanced in their ninjutsu training; Raphael was faced with Donatello while Leonardo was faced with Michelangelo. As the turtles trained, Chloe tried her best to not interfere; for the past year, she's helped them with their exercises since working on a farm gained her strength and stamina.

Now it was Splinter's turn to teach them defenses and offenses against each other and after a few months passed, they've learned the basics and practiced them all day, every day, so now they were ready to practice them on each other.

"Hajime!" Splinter called out.

Chloe kept biting her nails as the turtles threw punches and kicks at each other; she gasped when Leonardo threw Michelangelo over his shoulder across the room. Chloe sighed in relief when Michelangelo flipped in the air and landed on his feet, laughing while doing so. Chloe then looked to watch Donatello and Raphael in their training; Donatello was mainly on defense while Raphael was always attacking first.

Since Donatello was growing faster than the others, Chloe helped him learn some gymnastic moves to move more agile. During their training, Chloe gasped when Raphael accidently threw Donatello into Michelangelo, causing Michelangelo start crying; Chloe rushed quickly over to Michelangelo to comfort him.

"Don't cry Michelangelo" Chloe said as she picked him up and held him close, "It's alright"

"But my arm hurts!" Michelangelo cried, rubbing his sore arm, "I don't want to do this anymore!"

"Michelangelo, you must learn to build a tolerance for pain" Splinter told as he stood next to Chloe, "It will only get harder as your training progresses"

"Then I don't want to do it anymore, I don't like it, it's too hard!" Michelangelo cried.

"Michelangelo, you cannot quit just because it's too hard, you've barely began your training into being a ninja" Splinter lightly scolded.

"You know, they've been training for a few hours, how about a break" Chloe suggested.

"Alright, but we will resume in an hour" Splinter said as he gave Michelangelo a look that told him that he would also be training.

"Not me" Michelangelo said as he looked away with a stubborn look and Splinter gave a small scowl.

Chloe placed Michelangelo on the ground and he and his brothers ran out of the dojo to relax a bit.

"I don't like this advance training for the boys" Chloe said worriedly, "I don't like them hurting each other like this"

"They must learn how to defend themselves against a greater threat as we might not be here all the time"

Chloe sighed a bit, "Yeah, I know; but Michelangelo's stubborn and if he doesn't want to do something, he'll run and hide, like he does when it's bath time; there's got to be a way to get him back into training, I've spent a year with him exercising and you've spent months in training him in combat, we can't let all that time go to waste"

Chloe suddenly felt a sense of danger go off in her mind and she knew where it was happening, so she quickly rushed off towards the kitchen. When she ran into the kitchen, she saw that Michelangelo was standing on a stool, trying to reach for a box of crackers on top of the refrigerator and the stool was wobbling badly.

"Michelangelo!" Chloe called out as she picked Michelangelo up, "You are not supposed to be standing on a chair without an adult present, you could have fallen and hurt yourself"

"I'm sorry mommy" Michelangelo apologized with a small sad face.

"I'm not mad, I was just worried" Chloe said, then grabbed the box of crackers from the top of the fridge and handed it to Michelangelo as she set him on the ground.

"Thank you mommy" Michelangelo said and soon ran out of the kitchen, past Splinter, who was right behind Chloe when she ran out of the room.

"How did you know that he was standing on the stool?" Splinter asked.

"I don't know, maybe it was a mothers intuition or something, I just sensed that he was in a risky position and I rushed off to save him"

Splinter looked to be thinking about her intuition sense, "Interesting. Have you had this sort of feeling before?"

"Uhh, yeah, I guess… now that you're mentioning it, I had this same sort of feeling when I ran into you the first time, just when we were parting ways; why, what do you think that is?"

"Chloe, it seems that you have a rare gift, a sensitivity I have trained my entire life to develop"

"What kind of sensitivity?"

"An innate spiritual sensitivity and atunement with the universe"

"Wow; so why are you telling me this?"

"I would like to train you to be a kunoichi, a female ninja"

Chloe looked completely surprised by his offer, "Oh, that's quite an offer Splinter; I mean, I guess I could since I'm a bit ahead of the boys in my work outs, but I don't know all that much about martial arts, I don't know if I'm capable of that kind of intensity"

"Anyone can be a master if they are determined to become one, but it will be the hardest thing you've ever done, it will drain you mentally, physically and spiritually"

Chloe chuckled a bit, "You probably should have left out that physical part, I've worked on a farm for years and taken gymnastics in middle school and high school"

"Let us hope that you have enough stamina to push you through the mental and spiritual part"

Chloe began to think about it for a moment before she started to hear laughter in the living room and thought of an idea, "Let's start now"

"Chloe, you haven't gone through the offense and defense training the boys went through"

"I may not have practice them, but I've been there to help out, I know how it works"

Splinter looked into Chloe's eyes and saw that there was something more than her enthusiasm to begin in her training, "You have something else in mind about your training"

"I want to set an example for Michelangelo, he's never seen you go through any pain during training, maybe if he learns by watching one of us go through it, maybe then he'll want to continue in his training, and don't hold back on me, even if I'm just beginning, treat me like I'm already a master"

Splinter began to think about the plan for a moment, "I agree with you on the first part of your plan, but you don't know what I'm capable of in ninjutsu"

"I kind of do, I've seen you in action when you saved me from being kidnapped"

Splinter sighed a bit irritably, but deep down, he was pretty worried, "If you want me to stop, just say it and we'll stop"

"I'm glad you're making it my call, because I'm not gonna allow you to stop"

Splinter let out a small chuckle, "You are quite stubborn Chloe"

Chloe chuckled a little too, "I guess now we know where Michelangelo gets it from"

Chloe and Splinter walked into the living room where the boys were sitting and doing what they usually do when relaxing.

"Boys, it's time for training" Chloe told.

"But I thought we had an hour break" Donatello said.

"You do, but I mean it's time for mommy's training, so you should come watch how the adults fight"

"Whoa, that's amazing!" Leonardo said excitedly.

"You're gonna be hurting mommy?" Raphael said worriedly to Splinter.

"It's primary in her training, you need to learn how to deal with pain" Splinter told.

"Come on kids, we're beginning now" Chloe said.

"I can't believe mom's gonna be a ninja!" Michelangelo said excitedly.

"Actually Michelangelo, the term for a female ninja is kunoichi" Splinter told.

Soon everyone was back in the dojo and Splinter and Chloe stood facing each other while the turtles sat in a row near the wall. Splinter and Chloe bowed to each other and took a stance; Chloe took action first and charged at Splinter, when she tried to hit him, he easily moved out of the way. This went on for a few moments before Splinter caught her arm as she threw another punch and flipped her over his shoulder and she rolled across the room roughly before stopping.

"Mom!" the turtles shouted worriedly.

"I'm alright boys" Chloe groaned lightly as she pushed herself up, brushing herself off and took a stance.

Splinter admired that even when she was thrown a bit roughly, which he didn't mean to do at first, she got right back up and prepared herself for another attack, and right as they were beginning her training; she was strong. Their practice continued for a long while and every time Chloe was tripped, pushed, thrown or knocked down, she got right back up and prepared herself, acting like she wasn't hurting at all. Splinter thought she was a strong and caring woman, going through all the pain and trying her best to hide it so that she could set an example for Michelangelo so he could be strong as well.

"Alright Chloe, it's time for the boys to begin their training again" Splinter told as Chloe was pushing herself up again after another throw.

"Don't worry, I can still continue with the boys" Chloe panted, trying hard to keep balance as her body was extremely sore after her intense training.

"No mommy, you should take a break" Michelangelo said as he rushed up to her and smiled, "We'll continue our training"

"We?" Chloe said with a small smile, "You mean you want to continue training after making that big speech about quitting?"

"If mommy can do it, so can I!"

Chloe smiled happily as her plan was a success, "I believe you can do anything honey" Chloe then stood up and began to make her way out as the turtles continued their training, but stopped when she was next to Splinter, "I'll be back to train with the boys in thirty minutes"

"You are quite stubborn Chloe" Splinter said with a small chuckle.

"I prefer determined" Chloe said with a small smirk and walked out of the dojo.

Splinter smiled as he laughed to himself, Chloe was defiantly the most stubborn person he's met, but that's what made her strong.


	7. Year Three:Working, Helping, Celebration

Chloe was sitting in her room that was set up in the lair when she had to stay nights when the turtles asked her to stay over, working on her storyboard for her graphic novel. She decided that she's put it off long enough and asked Splinter for a break from her ninjutsu training so she could finish it.

It took her a few hours to come up with a few scenes, but once inspiration struck, she worked quickly through it. But right in the middle of her work, Leonardo had came in with a wooden sword in his hands.

"Mom, can you spare with me?" Leonardo asked.

"I can't sweetie, I'm working" Chloe said, "Can't you ask your father?"

"He's meditating and said not to disturb him"

"Please honey, mommy's very busy at the moment, just take a nap or something, I'll spare with you another time"

Leonardo looked down a bit sadly before he started to make his way towards the doorway.

Chloe felt bad then by how sad Leonardo looked by her rejection, "Leonardo, wait!" Leonardo stopped and looked back at Chloe, "If you give me a moment, I'll spare with you"

Leonardo then smiled happily, "Ok mommy!"

Leonardo soon ran off and Chloe sighed a bit tiredly and in slight defeat before she began her work again; but not long after Leonardo left, Donatello had came into the room.

"Mother, can you pick me up some test tubes, beakers, a bunsen burner, a blow torch and a welding helmet?" Donatello asked.

Chloe looked at her son questioningly, "Why a blow torch?"

"I'm making a staircase up in the living room that leads up to the surface through the manhole cover just above"

"Sweetie, I'm not getting you a blow torch, that's too dangerous and you're too young, or a bunsen burner, nothing involving fire"

Donatello sighed a bit sadly, "Then can you get me a microscope instead of a bunsen burner and blow torch"

"Yes, but I'll have to get that later, I'm working right now"

"But mother, I really need to observe the parasites in the sewage water in the living room"

"No to that too, I don't want you getting ill from observing parasites in the sewage water"

"But what if Michelangelo falls in it and gets ill, I need to find an antidote for the illness if that happens"

Chloe sighed a groaned as she let the pencil slip out from her fingers and laid her head on her hands as she shook her head, feeling very slightly annoyed by the interruptions.

"I will get you your supplies Donatello, just give me a moment to work"

"Thank you mother" Donatello soon left, but then Raphael had came in just as Donatello left.

"Mommy, play with me" Raphael said in a demanding tone.

Chloe took in a deep breath as she tried not to snap, the boys were being very needy the last couple of days when she was in the middle of working and constantly interrupting her.

"Mommy's working honey, I'll play with you in a moment" Chloe said as he rubbed her temples to sooth an oncoming headache.

"But I want you to play with me now!"

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" Michelangelo shouted as he ran into the room, "I want to explore the sewers! I want to explore the sewers!"

"Mommy's playing with me!" Raphael argued.

"But I want her to explore the sewers with me, I want to see what's through there!"

"Mother!" Donatello shouted as he came running into the room, "I need to collect a sample of the sewage water, the temperature in the lair is rising and I need to know how they react to cold temperatures, I need those supplies now"

"Who cares about your stupid sciency stuff, mommy's playing with me!" Raphael argued.

"Mom, are you ready to spare!" Leonardo said as he came into the room as well.

Chloe squeezed her eyes as she applied slight pressure to her temples with her fingers as she tried to calm out her headache from the shouting of the turtles as they continued to fight. After having enough of the screaming, Chloe slammed her hands on her table and stood up abruptly, causing the boys to cease their fighting.

Chloe then walked out of the room and towards the dojo, then she stood in front of Splinter, who was sitting on the floor meditating, but was brought out of it when he felt Chloe's uneasy presence there.

"What is it Chloe?" Splinter asked as he stood up.

"I can't work with these constant interruptions; the boys become so high maintenance whenever I try to draw, you need to be a distraction to them whenever I'm working, I need your help. They're your sons too, you also have to spend some quality time with them other than training, please, you have to be helping out in keeping them distracted when I want to work because I keep them distracted whenever you want to meditate, it can't be a one way street-"

"Alright-alright Chloe, calm down" Splinter interrupted when he saw that she was starting to get extremely stressed out, "I will spend some time with the boys so that you can work; what is it that they need?"

"Leonardo wants someone to spare with, Donatello wants some supplies, which I will quickly run out to get, Raphael wants to play, though I think he only wanted me to play with him which you will have to convince him to play with you and Michelangelo wants to explore the sewers"

Splinter began to think about all their requests for a while before he thought of a plan, "We shall all go explore the sewers and during that, Leonardo could practice his stealth while Donatello could possibly find some supplies that he needs since most people either lose or throw things away in the sewers and Raphael could learn to play with his brothers as well"

"Are you sure you'll be able to keep track of all of them at once?"

"I think I can manage; like you said Chloe, I should be helping out more with the boys other than their training"

Chloe smiled gratefully, "Thank you. Thank you so much"

Splinter soon took the boys out for the day while Chloe went back to her room to continue her work. After a few hours had passed and when she was in the middle of her work, her phone started to buzz, since she put it on silence mode; it sill surprised her that she had reception underground.

"Hello?" Chloe answered as she placed her pencil down and rubbed her tired eyes. As Chloe listened to the person talk to her, she looked like she almost couldn't believe what they were saying before she started to get excited, which she managed to contain.

"Oh! Thank you! Thank you very much!" Chloe said excitedly before hanging up, then flinging her hands in the air and spinning her chair around, laughing, "YES!"

After her little cheer, she sprung up from her chair and rushed towards the exit of the lair and began to search through the sewers for the boys and Splinter. It took her a while to actually find them and she didn't want to call them out as she thought that a worker might be near her and she didn't want to get herself or the other caught.

She tried to focus her mind, using her sensitivity that Splinter helped her control to try and find the boys and Splinter. She felt her mind starting to wander and it felt like it was tracking the others through the sewers before it gave her a location, so she rushed off towards it. When she arrived at her destination, she saw that it was empty, but she sensed that there was someone there.

"Splinter" Chloe called out softly, knowing that with his heightened hearing, he would know that it was her.

"Chloe" Splinter called back as he stepped out of the shadows with the boys right behind him, "What are you doing here?"

"I just got a call from an editor that a friend of mine sent my submission to and they called saying that they want to publish my comic book!" Chloe said excitedly.

"That is wonderful Chloe" Chloe then hugged Splinter and he hugged her back. "This calls for a celebration" Splinter said as they pulled out of the hug.

"A party!" Michelangelo said excitedly and his brothers joined in on the excitement as well.

Chloe bit her lip a bit anxiously, the editor had asked for her first draft possibly next week and she was only half way through and she was stuck again. But she saw that the boys were so excited about the celebration and she remembered how much they wanted to spend some time with her, even fighting for her attention. So she decided to keep quiet, also wanting to spend some time with the boys since the past few hours felt like an eternity to her when they left and they began to make their way back to the lair to spend some time as a family.


	8. Year Four: Missing, Return, Closer

Splinter was pacing back and forth near the turnstiles, listening out carefully for any approaching footsteps. He was very, very worried at the moment. Chloe hadn't come in that morning, even with her work, she would at least call or stop by for lunch to visit the boys and him, but it was now early in the evening and she didn't call or stop by. It wasn't like her to not take time to call them to inform them if she was going to be late or if she wasn't going to stop by that day.

"Father?" Splinter looked down to see Leonardo tugging on the end of his robe while his brothers stood close to him, all looking as worried as he was, "When is mom coming home?"

"I… I don't know Leonardo" Splinter answered.

"She hasn't called any today" Donatello told.

"I know Donatello"

"I want mommy home" Michelangelo said as tears started to pour down his face.

"Can't you go out and find her?" Raphael questioned as he tried to hold in his tears.

"I can't Raphael, I don't want to take a chance at someone seeing me and I don't want to leave you boys home alone" Splinter explained, "I'm sure that she is at work in a meeting"

"Will she be home to tuck us in bed?" Michelangelo asked.

Splinter didn't know how to answer, he had a bad feeling and he didn't want to upset the turtles, "I don't know Michelangelo"

Splinter hoped that Chloe was just in a meeting and that was why she couldn't call and would come home for the boys and his sake.

* * *

A month.

Chloe's been missing for a month now.

Splinter had gone out to look for her after the second day absence from the lair after the boys fell asleep, but now he could barely get out as the boys were now staying up all night, too worried and sad about their mother missing for so long. The boys would barely eat and barely focus on their training and Splinter could barely focus on his meditation as he was also too worried about what could have happened to Chloe.

Splinter was standing in front of the shrine where the picture of him as a human with his wife and daughter and the picture of him as he was now, the turtles and Chloe. Splinter picked up the picture of his new family and looked at the picture of Chloe, seeing her smile that he hasn't seen for a month now.

"Chloe" Splinter said sadly.

He felt like he was going to break out in tears, which he hadn't done in such a long time, but the feeling of losing someone he'd come to care deeply about was so overbearing that he couldn't prevent the fall of a tear escaping his eye.

* * *

Splinter was in the dojo with the boys, trying once again to get them to focus on their training, but none of them could focus or put any effort in their actions.

"Hello?" Everyone froze at the sound of the familiar voice that they haven't heard for so long, they were beginning to think that they starting to hear things now. "I'm home!"

Everyone rushed towards the dojo's exit and looked to see Chloe standing in the middle of the pit in the living room.

"Mom!" the turtles shouted in relief and happiness to see their mother return and ran as fast as they could to her.

Chloe nearly down and hugged the boys tightly, kissing them and couldn't stop smiling as tears ran down her face.

"Chloe" Splinter said as he also rushed towards her and the boys after coming out of his shock at seeing that she finally came home. When he was close to her, he saw that she looked completely worn out and appeared to have bruises on her face and her hair was a tangled mess while her clothes looked slightly torn. "Chloe, what has happened? Where have you been?"

"It was those men Splinter" Chloe told, sounding out of breath and near tears, "Those men who tried to kidnap me when we met, they suddenly grabbed me when I was leaving my home and I've been trapped in some kind of detention center, I escaped so many times, but they kept capturing me and even when I tried to hide from them, they kept finding me. I was too scared to come home because I was afraid that they would follow and find you and the boys, but I managed to lose them and… and now I'm home, I'm home with you and the boys"

When Chloe looked down at the turtles, she was a bit surprised to see that they all fallen asleep at her feet.

"They've been so worried that they've barely sleep" Splinter told.

"I can understand" Chloe kneeled down and picked up two of the turtles while Splinter picked up the other two and then placed them in bed so they could get a good night's rest after not having one for over a month. After Chloe cleaned herself up, she sat with Splinter with a cup of tea.

"The boys were troubled with you being gone so long" Splinter said as he poured more tea into his cup, "They've barely sleep, ate or even focus on their training"

"…What about you?" Chloe asked, "You've only talked about how the boys felt of my absence; what about you?"

Splinter looked at Chloe, she could tell that it was bothering him that he hasn't told her how he felt and he couldn't find it in him to lie to her.

"I was terrified" Splinter spoke, "When you didn't come in that morning or call that afternoon, I became very worried; I tried to think that you were just working, but I couldn't think that anymore the day after and I had gone out to search for you after the boys fell asleep" Splinter reached over to place his hand on top of Chloe's, "The thought of losing you, my dearest friend, was unbearable"

Chloe then smiled as she placed her other hand on top of Splinter's, "I would feel the same if I lost either you or the boys, it's been so long since I've had this kind of love, to have someone I am lucky enough to call my family. Thank you for giving me a family Splinter after not having one for so long"

Splinter chuckled a bit, "I think I should be the one thanking you for being a true friend to me, I am very lucky to have you as one as well as the boys are very lucky to have you as a mother"

Chloe and Splinter smiled at each other as they continued to sit in a comfortable silence, enjoying and appreciating each other's presence in their life.


	9. Year Four: Forbidden, Argument, SLAP!

**I want to apologize about not updating for a while, but I'm running a bit low on ideas; I still have a few more ideas left, but after that, I'm stuck, so if you want, maybe you could suggest an idea or two that I could write about, that would be helpful, thanks.**

The next day in the lair, after Splinter had placed the turtles in bed for a nap and he was in the dojo meditating, he heard footsteps just outside and he looked to see Chloe walk past the doorway. He stood up and made his way to the doorway and looked to see Chloe making her way to the exit.

"Chloe" Splinter called out, "What are you doing?"

"I was heading out to talk to my editor about why I was absent for so long" Chloe explained.

"Can't you just call them?" Splinter began to make his way over to Chloe.

"It'd be better if I just meet them in person, I won't be long, I'll be back before the boys wake up from their nap" Chloe was about to leave again, but she felt a tight grip on her upper arm and she looked up to see that Splinter looked really upset, "What?"

"You are not to leave the lair"

"What?"

"You are incapable of handling yourself up on the surface"

Chloe then looked offended as she pulled her arm out of Splinter's grip, "Incapable? I am perfectly capable of handling myself just fine"

"You were kidnapped for a month"

"It's happened before and I managed to escape, I've been doing this since I was little"

"But you can't get lucky in escaping every time, you need more training to escape before you are even captured"

"I'll train later, AFTER I talk to my editor in person"

Chloe was about to leave again, but Splinter grabbed her wrist and began to drag her towards the dojo.

"You are going into intense training and you are forbidden to leave the lair until I deem you worth enough" Splinter told with authority.

Chloe used all the strength she could to snap Splinter's grip off of her and glared up at him harshly, "Forbidden?! You can't forbid me to do anything, I'm a grown woman! I'm not some little child!"

"And you are not strong enough to protect yourself! I had to save you from those men when we first met!"

"I could have escaped from them without your help!"

"But you didn't know that! You didn't know if you could escape from them that time!"

"God, you're such a narrow-minded man! I escaped, I came home, end of story, it's in the past!"

"And do you even know what had happened during that time you were kidnapped? The boys cried, the boys couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, couldn't concentrate on anything but wondering where their mother was! Do you want to be responsible for causing that much pain on them again?"

 _SLAP!_

The sounded echoed throughout the lair almost continuously. Splinter, with his head turned to the side by the force, looked completely shocked while Chloe looked furious now as she lowered her throbbing hand.

"Do NOT blame me about what the boys went through! It was those men who kidnapped me, it was those men who prevented me from coming home to my family, not me! And do you even know what I went through when I was captured? I cried too at not being able to see you or the boys, to not being able to see their smiles or hear their laughs or to play with them! You and the boys were the reason why I fought so hard to escape so I could come back home to my only family!"

Chloe stormed out of the lair, leaving Splinter still in shock at what had just accord and suddenly feeling guilty after receiving this new information. As Chloe was wandering through the sewers, she stopped and leaned against the wall to support herself, covering her mouth as she looked shocked and guilty at what she did to Splinter. She slapped him. She couldn't believe what she had done to her friend, her family. She felt like she could never be forgiven for what she had done to him.


	10. Year Four: Reconcile, Forgive, Comfort

**Ok, I know that most of you are expecting that the fight is going to be a big deal, but Chloe and Splinter are more mature than that... a little, so sorry to disappoint you.**

Chloe was gone for hours and luckily, the boys didn't wake up or had been woken up by their argument earlier. Splinter was standing in the dojo in front of the shrine, staring at the new family photo. He felt like he took things too far with his dispute about Chloe not being strong enough, but he was wrong, she was strong enough.

The thought of her being taken away so suddenly brought up the painful memories of his wife and daughter being taken away so suddenly from him. Splinter then heard the turnstiles move and knew that Chloe was back, but he couldn't find it in him to face her, feeling too guilty about the things he said to her; even when he heard her footsteps closing in on him, he still couldn't face her.

Splinter was caught off guard when he felt Chloe's arm wrap around his waist from behind; he placed his hands onto Chloe's and loosened them a bit so that he could turn around to look at her. They both looked at each other and saw that they both looked guilty.

"I want to say I'm sorry" – "I want to apologize" Splinter and Chloe said at the same time.

They were both surprised, but smiled a little.

Chloe reached up to gently place her hand where she had slapped Splinter, "I'm sorry I hit you like that; I would never do anything like that to you, you're my best friend"

"No, you had every right to hit me like that, I was way out of line of telling you that you weren't strong enough, but you are, I should have been more considerate of what you were going through at that time. It's just that with what I have lost in the past, I did not want to losing anything else that I hold dear to me; will you find it in your heart to forgive me?"

"I already do Splinter, we're friends, it's what we do, we fight, but we forgive because we care too much about each other to hold any kind of grudge"

Splinter smiled in relief, "Even though you said that, I want to say that I also forgive you"

Chloe sighed in relief, "Oh, thank god, I was a little worried that you wouldn't"

Splinter chuckled a little before he brought Chloe in for another hug, which she happily accepted. The two started to realized that they needed each other, they found comfort in one another, even when fighting, they found that it only brought them closer together. They didn't want to lose each other because they found that they brought each other comfort, made each other feel safe, in which they haven't felt in a long while.


	11. Year Four: Moving, Arrangment, Home

Chloe came through the turnstiles, her arms full of boxes, and made her way through the living room, but then the turtles came running in and started to run around her excitedly, so she had to stop so she wouldn't trip.

"We're so excited that you're finally moving in with us!" Raphael said.

"It's long overdue" Donatello added.

"You're gonna be here when you tuck us in and when we wake up and when we train and when we eat!" Michelangelo shouted.

"We're really happy that you're going to be with us all the time" Leonardo said.

"Me too boys, but I got to have room so I _can_ move in" Chloe said.

"Is there anything we can do to help you move in quicker?" Leonardo asked.

"That's alright boys, Splinter's rearranging his room a bit so that he could divide it and I can move in to the room next to his"

"I can rearrange my room so you can live in there" Raphael offered.

"Oh sweetie" Chloe said with a smile and chuckle, "Thank you, but when you get older, you'll be thankful that I'm not living in your room"

"Can I live in your room then?" Raphael said with puppy dog eyes.

"All of you are welcome to stay in my room as long as you want, but when I need my space, I need you boys to stay out of my room for a while"

"Chloe" Splinter called out as he walked into the living room, "Your room is ready"

"Thanks Splinter" Chloe said and she lifted the boxes up a bit as it was starting to slip out of her hands.

Splinter walked over and grabbed two of the three boxes she was holding, "How many more boxes do you need to bring down?"

"Just two more and my apartment will finally be empty and I'll be officially living here now"

"You're practically already living here" Donatello told, "You come here every morning before we wake up and stay here all day before we go to bed, you even spend nights here most of the time, you just didn't have all your stuff here"

"Well, I guess you're right about that Donatello"

"Now our home really feels like a home now that you're living here from now on" Leonardo said.

Chloe smiled sweetly at the boys, "Home. I really like the sound of that" Chloe then looked up at Splinter, who was smiling as well, "It's been a long while since I had a place that felt like home, I'm glad that it's with you and the boys"

"And I am grateful that you are now making our home feel complete" Splinter said.

Soon Chloe brought in the last of her things and she and Splinter, even the turtles, began to put her things in place in her permanent room.


	12. Year Five: Temper, Remorse, Companion

In the dojo, Splinter, Chloe and the turtles were in the dojo for their routine training session, but Splinter had a new training session in mind for them.

"My sons" Splinter spoke, "You are truly becoming impressive warriors; this competition is a free-for-all , last turtle standing wins"

"They're five" Chloe spoke, "Are you sure you want to pit them against each other so soon?"

"It will be useful for them to know where they stand, what their strength and weaknesses are" Splinter told, "Hajime!"

When the battle began, Raphael ran so that he was behind Donatello and kicked him across the dojo, knocking him into the growing oak tree and knocked him out of the fight.

"Sorry Donnie, it's a ninja eat ninja world" Raphael taunted a bit, then ran at Michelangelo, who was busy laughing at his older brother.

Michelangelo saw him coming in time and swiftly moved out the way; Leonardo then jumped in and began to fight against Raphael.

"What are you doing Leo?" Raphael questioned his older brother as they were now fighting, "I was going for Mikey"

"What part of last turtle standing don't you understand?" Leonardo questioned as he pushed Raphael back.

Raphael was tumbling back a bit towards Michelangelo and he moved away and began to back up as well, but then Leonardo tripped Michelangelo, knocking him out of the fight as well.

"Aw man!" Michelangelo whined.

"Distraction" Splinter spoke as he stood next to Michelangelo while Chloe helped him up, "Misdirection; powerful weapons in a ninjas arsenal"

Chloe was chuckling when Michelangelo was copying what Splinter was doing, but Splinter saw and gave his youngest son a look; Michelangelo looked up and saw that he was caught and smiled nervously with a laugh.

"Looks like you leveled up to the boss fight" Raphael said as he faced his older brother.

"I'm gonna wipe that smirk off your face, permanently" Leonardo told as he stood stern and ready.

"Leonar-" Splinter placed his hand over Chloe's mouth to keep her quiet so the fight could continue.

"It could be good for them" Splinter said.

The two brothers began to fight intensely and with everything they've been taught, even pulling moves that Splinter had yet to teach them. When Raphael started to run so he could compose himself, Leonardo chased after him and when Raphael ran around the tree, Leonardo jumped onto the tree and kneed Raphael in the face just as he came around, knocking him down in front of their younger brothers, who stared in awe at what just happened.

Leonardo walked over to kneel down in front of his parents, who looked to be proud of him; Raphael was on his knees and hands looking down at the ground, panting as he felt a harden emotion well up inside of him, towards his brother and he couldn't suppress it.

Raphael gave out a war cry as he charged at an unsuspected Leonardo, who tried to defend himself, but the attack was unexpected and Raphael was hitting so hard, he couldn't recover quick enough. Raphael had then pinned Leonardo to the floor and kept repeatedly hitting him, screaming 'I hate you!' over and over again.

"Raphael!" Splinter and Chloe shouted in shock at their son's sudden aggression and violence towards Leonardo. They rushed over and Splinter pulled Raphael off of Leonardo while Chloe tended to her crying eldest.

"Raphael!" Splinter shouted a bit to gain his sons attention, "You had no right to attack your brother like that!"

"He started it!" Raphael shouted, "I should have been the one that won! I'm stronger!"

"Raphael, go to your room now, I will determine your punishment after you apologize to Leonardo" Splinter told sternly.

Raphael made an angry pouty face as his eyes started to fill up with tears before he ran out of the dojo. Chloe looked at the dojo doorway with concern rather than disappointment at what Raphael had done. Once Chloe and Splinter had tended to Leonardo's injuries, Splinter had gone to meditate in the dojo before determining Raphael's punishment. Unknown to him, Chloe made her way towards Raphael's room and gently knocked on the door.

"I'm not going to apologize to Leo!" Raphael shouted.

"Can I come in?" Chloe asked, "I just want to talk"

It was quiet for a moment before the door opened up a bit and Chloe took it as a sign that she could come in. When she came in, she saw that Raphael was in his bed with his face buried in his pillow; Chloe walked over and sat on his bed, placing a hand on his shell.

"Raphael, honey, you don't hate your brother" Chloe said.

"Yes I do!" Raphael shouted into his pillow, "He beat me! I should have won!"

"Just because he beat you this one time, doesn't mean you hate him, you have to be careful with your temper"

"I don't have a temper!"

"It's not a bad thing to have a temper, I have them sometimes too, Splinter as well, we just learn to control it better; you just have to calm down, clear your head and realize that you don't really hate your brother. Come have a walk with me"

Raphael looked up at Chloe, his eyes a bit red and tears stained on his cheeks, "But Splinter said I wasn't allowed to leave"

"Then it'll be just our secret"

Raphael smiled a bit before he got out of bed and took Chloe's hand. They made their way out of the room and Chloe managed to sneak them out of the lair without anyone noticing them and they took a walk through the sewers in silence for a while.

"Would you like to know a secret Raphael?" Chloe asked as they continued to walk.

"Ok" Raphael answered, kicking some stay cans.

"When I came back home, Splinter and I got into a fight, we yelled at each other and he said something that made me so anger with him that… I slapped him"

"You hit dad?" Raphael asked in surprised.

"Yes; I felt what you felt when Leonardo beat you and I acted without thinking; after that I went out for a walk to blow off some steam, and when I came to realized what I had done to someone I care about, I felt bad about it"

Raphael looked down at the ground, looking guilty now after hearing that and thought about it all, "My chest hurts"

"You feel bad about what you did and making up with Leonardo is the only way to make it stop, it's not about apologizing, it's about fixing what you've done"

"But what if it happens again? I don't know if I'll be able to stop it next time"

Chloe looked to be thinking about that for a bit, "Don't worry sweetheart, I'll help you, and so will Splinter, he still loves you, he may be stern, but he still loves you" Raphael sighed a bit as he nodded, "Let's head back now, Splinter must have noticed by now that we're both gone"

"Will he be mad at you?" Raphael asked worriedly.

"When I tell him why we went out, I don't think he will be"

Chloe and Raphael were soon making their way back to the lair, but on the way, Raphael thought he had saw something flowing in the larger water stream, so he stopped.

"What is it?" Chloe asked when she noticed that he had stopped.

"I thought I saw something" Raphael said, about to walk away again before he saw it again, "There it is!"

Raphael had jumped into the water stream and treaded through with the water up to his armpits and grabbed what he had seen.

Chloe reached over and helped Raphael out of the water, "Raphael, you shouldn't have done that by yourself, the water current is strong in this part of the sewers" Chloe looked to see what Raphael had saw that made him jump into the water stream and was surprised to see that he had picked up a turtle.

"Do we know him?" Raphael asked as he held the turtle up to Chloe.

Chloe laughed a little, "No sweetie, we don't"

"But he looks like me"

"Well, you both are turtles, but something special happened to you and your brothers that makes you different from others like him"

"Why is he down here? Where's his family?"

"I don't know honey, sometimes for creatures like him, when people don't want them, they just… get rid of them"

"They didn't love him?"

Chloe looked a bit sadden at how Raphael looked at the poor abandoned turtle, "I guess they didn't"

Raphael looked at the turtle for a bit before he smiled and stood up with a smile, "Well I love him; can I keep him mom?"

"That's a lot of responsibility Raphael, you'll have to feed him, keep him cleaned up; do you think you'll be able to do that?"

"Yes!"

Chloe smiled at her enthusiastic son, thinking of how cute and ironic it was that he had a pet turtle, "Ok, you can keep him; let's go home now"

When Chloe and Raphael made it back to the lair, they saw that Splinter was apparently waiting for their return and he gave a stern look with his arms crossed. Raphael gave his new pet turtle to Chloe and he made his way over to Leonardo, who was lying down in front of the TV. The two adults watched as Raphael sat down beside Leonardo, talking to each other for a bit before hugging each other.

"I don't think Raphael should be punished" Chloe spoke.

"By the looks of it, he already received his punishment" Splinter said and Chloe gave a confused look, "I saw that look you gave when Raphael left and I figured you would do something as you are his mother and you care very much for him, so his new punishment was his guilt"

Chloe let out a small puff of laughter, "You sneaky ninja"

Splinter chuckled a little as well, then he noticed the turtle that Chloe was holding, "What is that?"

"Oh, Raphael rescued him from the sewers and he felt bad about what happened to him, so he's Raphael's new pet"

"That is a lot of responsibility"

"I know, but I'll make sure he knows how to care for him, having a pet will be good for him"

Splinter sighed a bit, "Alright, Raphael may keep him; maybe having a companion will help him control his temper"

"Kind of like me and you"

Splinter smiled a bit at the memory of how quickly they made up after their first fight and how close it brought them. They were true friends that brought out the best, and worse, in each other, but that only made them grow closer to each other, hopeful that the same will be for Raphael with his new companion.


	13. Year Five: Halloween, Trick, Treats

Chloe made sure to keep herself well hidden, trying to keep her laughter and excitement at bay. It was Halloween and Chloe was dressed in a costume that she hope would give Splinter a good startle. And, she was hoping that if Splinter wasn't upset after the trick, she could ask him something and he wouldn't object to the idea.

Chloe peeked around the corner and saw that Splinter was coming out of the dojo, so she went back to hiding. She waited until she thought that Splinter was close enough, but she suddenly didn't hear his footsteps anymore. After a few moments of silence, she peeked around the corner again and was confused to find that it was empty. Chloe stepped out to look around the room, but she couldn't find find Splinter anywhere.

"What are you doing?" Splinter asked as he suddenly appeared behind of Chloe.

Chloe yelped in fright and swung around to look at Splinter, then she hesitantly, then gently smacked Splinter on the arm, looking a little upset, "Oh, you sneaky ninja! I was supposed to scare you, not the other way around"

"Why did you intend to scare me?" Splinter asked, then looked confused, then curious at Chloe's attire, "and why are you dressed like... a cat?"

"It's Halloween. I thought I'd play a small trick on you before I asked you a favor"

"What kind of favor?"

"Well, as I already said, it's Halloween, kids, teens and adults are all dressed up in costumes and too busy keeping watch on their kids or partying and having fun" Splinter felt like he knew where this conversation was going, but didn't interrupted, "So I was thinking, wondering, maybe hoping that-"

"You can take the boys out to trick 'r treat" Splinter finished.

"I know that we talked about not letting the boys go up to the surface until they were much older, but it's Halloween and everyone will be in costumes and too busy with watching their own kids to notice us. Please Splinter, we'd both be with them and we'll keep them in line so that they won't do anything to attract unwanted attention"

Splinter stroked his beard in deep thought, it was a risk, but most likely a small risk. Chloe was right on her part, but Splinter still didn't overlook the small possibility that they could get caught, but then he looked at Chloe and saw that she was giving a small pleading look. All she wanted was to take the boys out for a little fun and she wanted him to go as well, wanting him to take part in the family outing.

Splinter sighed quietly, "Alright, I'll allow the boys to go up to the surface"

"Yay!" Chloe cheered, jumping up and down for a bit, "This is going to be so much fun, for the boys and us, and I even dressed them up a bit so that we can keep a closer eye on them in case we run into a crowd"

Chloe lead Splinter to the kitchen and he saw that they boys were standing in a row and saw that they were dressed up. They all wore knee and elbow pads and they all had belts and their arms, hands and feet were wrapped up in bandages. Then he saw that they all wore different colored masks; Leonardo wore a blue mask, Raphael wore a red mask, Donatello wore a purple mask and Michelangelo wore an orange mask.

"Don't they look adorable?" Chloe gushed, "My handsome little ninjas, you look so cute"

"Mom!" The turtles groaned in embarrassment.

"They certainly look the part of being a ninja" Splinter said.

"Are you coming trick 'r treating with us?" Leonardo asked.

"Of course, Chloe had talked me into it and I think it will be nice to spend some time together"

"I can't believe we're going up to the surface!" Michelangelo said excitedly.

"Yes, we are going up to the surface and the streets will be filled with many humans, so while we're up there, you will follow these rules. You must stay close to me and Chloe at all times, don't talk to strangers, don't use or show any of you training and make sure, that if you start talking to any of the kids while we are out, that you don't tell them anything about who we really are as we are much different than everyone else"

"Yes Splinter" the turtles said at the same time.

Soon, Chloe, Splinter and the turtles headed up to the surface, cautious that no one saw them as they crawled out of the nearest manhole. The turtles were amazed and slightly nervous about being up in the streets and around so many people for the first time; they stuck mainly by Chloe while they walked half the block to their first house.

Chloe urged them up the steps by themselves while the two adults waited at the bottom of the stairs. The turtles were nervous as Leonardo was the one who knocked on the door and a woman had opened the door, dressed in a witch costume.

"Well look at you four cuties!" The woman gushed, "Those are some amazing costumes you're wearing"

"T-trick 'r treat" the turtles said nervously as they held out their bags.

The woman had then placed a few pieces of candy in each of the turtles bags and the turtles rushed down the stairs excitedly to their parents.

"That was so much fun!" Michelangelo exclaimed.

"Let's go to another house!" Raphael exclaimed as well.

Through half the night, Chloe and Splinter were now being dragged through the city by the turtles to nearly every house and apartment and at times watching the turtles talk to some of the kids along the way, having a lot of fun. When it was nearly ten and kids and their parents were now heading home and everyone stopped giving out candy, Chloe and Splinter had to carry the boys home as they used a lot of energy that night and were half asleep.

"I'm glad we decided to go out tonight" Chloe said as she and Splinter walked through the sewers to get back home.

"Yes, I'm glad you convinced me to letting the boys go out tonight" Splinter agreed, "The boys seemed to have had a lot of fun"

"You say that now, but come tomorrow morning, I bet that the boys are going to wolf down their candy and we need all the rest we can get becuase they'll probably going to have a major sugar rush"

Splinter and Chloe laughed quietly so they wouldn't wake the boys and tried to prepare themselves for tomorrow.


	14. Year Six:Beautiful, Confusion, Goodnight

The turtles and Splinter were waiting near the turnstiles for Chloe to finish getting dressed as she was about to head out to a company party and they wanted to greet her on the way out.

"I bet mommy's gonna look soooo pretty" Michelangelo said.

"Mom's already pretty" Raphael said.

"Yeah, but she's going to be wearing a dress and everything, I bet she'll be twice as pretty"

When they heard the clicking of heels, Splinter arranged the turtles so that they were standing in a row before standing across from them. When they all looked to see Chloe come in, they were stunned by how she looked; she wore a blue, off the shoulder low back, floor length beaded dress with a silver flower hair clip that pinned one side of her hair back and was carrying a clutch bag.

Splinter was taken completely by surprise for some reason at how radiant Chloe looked; he had always seen her as a beautiful person, but this was different for some reason.

"Wow mom, you look so pretty" Michelangelo complimented.

"Thank you sweetie" Chloe said as she kneeled down to the turtles, "Now I'll be home sometime around nine-thirty to tuck you in, I've already made you boys and Splinter dinner and it's wrapped in the refrigerator, so all you have to do it reheat it, no ice cream before dinner and please no roughhousing or making a mess in the kitchen or living room"

"Yes mom" the turtles said.

"Ok, I love you all" Chloe hugged and placed a kiss on each other the turtles heads before she stood up and in front of Splinter, who continued to look at Chloe with amazement, which confused her a bit.

"What?" Chloe asked.

"Oh, I was…" Splinter fumbled a bit, which confused him at why he was doing that when he was always so composed, "You look very beautiful"

Chloe let out a small chuckle, "Thank you" Chloe then gave a taunting look, "Do you think you'll be cable enough of handling the boys while I'm gone?"

Splinter smiled as he chuckled a little as well, "Being a ninja master, I think I can handle a group of six year olds"

"Quit bragging" Chloe then walked closer to Splinter and gave him a hug as well; Splinter's body suddenly went stiff, his heart suddenly beating faster, confusing him further, Chloe had always given him hugs, he didn't know why this was different.

"Try not to burn the kitchen down" Chloe teased as she pulled away and soon left.

The turtles went off the watch TV, which they fished out in the sewers – along with video games that they also found while exploring the sewers since Splinter and Chloe gave them permission to do, but gave strict rules about how far they were allowed to go – while Splinter stood in place, staring at the exit for a while as confusion clouded his mind.

He was experiencing strange feelings towards Chloe that he didn't think he could feel with her and it confused him of why he was experiencing them now. Splinter rushed off to the dojo to meditate and clear his thoughts to figure out why he was feeling such emotions. Splinter sat in the middle of the dojo and calmly breathed in and out, finding his center to calm his intense emotions that had suddenly surfaced.

He recognized these feelings before, when he had first met Tang Shen, thinking that she was a very beautiful woman at first sight and knowing her more made his love for her grow. He didn't know why he was experiencing these same emotions with Chloe, when they had first met, they instantly became friends; but thinking back about it now, he did think that Chloe was a beautiful woman, but at the time, he wasn't looking for someone new to love.

Then Splinter began to think about the years they spent together, about the laughs they shared, the fun they had, even the fights they went through, thinking about how it only brought them closer together. Learning about Chloe, her past, her fears, her sadness, the pain of loneliness she had to endure because she cared too much about the people around her, not wanting them to get involved in her dangerous life.

He didn't know how to confirm him feelings, he loved Tang Shen, they had a daughter together, he didn't think he could love anyone else like he had loved her. But something about Chloe, being so close to her and knowing who she really is, her personality was astonishing and her attitude was bold, but compassionate.

Something about Chloe made her beautiful, strong, brave, smart, and capable of handling herself in dangerous and tough situations. Confirming all these wonderful qualities about Chloe, it made Splinter's heart feel light and his stomach do strange flips, it was making Splinter… fall in love with Chloe.

"Splinter?" Splinter flinched in surprise at the sound of the voice and he looked next to him to see that Chloe was back.

"Chloe, what are you doing back?" Splinter asked as he stood up, "Did you forget something?"

"You must have been deep in thought to not notice the time; it's past ten, I came in here because I was getting ready for bed" Splinter was completely surprised by how time escaped him like that, "I had to clean the kitchen because the boys didn't want to disturb you and reheated their own meals"

"I am sorry about that, I should have watched the boy more carefully" Splinter apologized.

"It's alright Splinter, you must have had a lot on your mind that you needed to sort through. It's pretty late and that party exhausted me, I heading off to bed now" Chloe said as she headed towards her bedroom.

"Goodnight Chloe" Splinter said.

Chloe paused at her open doorway and looked back at Splinter with a breathtaking smile, "Goodnight Splinter"

Chloe closed the door and Splinter stood there for a while, staring at the door with conflicted thoughts rushing through his head, not knowing if to feel happy or guilty.


	15. Year Six: Guilt, Guide, Closure

It was late in the night and Splinter was still standing at the shrine, looking at his old family portrait where he was still human. The idea of having such feelings for Chloe, feelings of love for another woman, made him feel guilty. He felt like he was abandoning his wife, the first woman he ever loved, they built a life together, they had a child.

The thought of loving another woman confused him, he still loved Tang Shen, but his growing love for Chloe was driving him crazy; even though his wife was gone, moving on like this would make him feel like he was forgetting her. Though having sons made his memory grow stronger from his old one, loving Chloe in such a way almost made him feel like he was going to forget. The idea made the guilt eat away at his heart.

"Splinter?" Splinter looked over to see Leonardo walking into the room, rubbing his eye as he yawned.

"Leonardo, what are you doing up?" Splinter asked as he kneeled down to his eldest son.

"I was getting some water and I saw that you were standing here" Leonardo told, "Why're you still up?"

Splinter picked up Leonardo and turned to look back at his old picture, "I have a lot on my mind tonight"

Leonardo looked and saw Splinter's old family picture, "Who're they?"

"That was what I looked like when I was still human"

"Who's that lady and the baby she's holding?"

"The lady was my wife and the child she is holding was my daughter"

"But I thought mom was your wife" Leonardo said a bit innocently.

"She may be your mother, but she is not my wife"

"Why?" Leonardo asked, taking Splinter by surprise, "Don't you love her?"

Splinter looked at his son before he looked back at his new family photo, seeing Chloe smile beautifully, "I… I do Leonardo"

"Then why can't she be your wife?"

"It is very complicated Leonardo, and you are but a child and couldn't possibly understand my situation"

"But what's complicated about loving mom?"

Splinter sighed a bit, though he knew it was a ridiculous to talk about something like this to a child, he had no one else to turn to and talk about something like this.

"I had created so much of my life with my wife, we had a home and a daughter and we loved each other very much"

"But now you have mom and us and we have a home and if you love mom and mom loves you, what's different?"

Splinter opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't find the right words to say. What Leonardo said, it was all the same, he and Chloe had built a life together, they had a home that they built together and they raised the turtles together and they both cared for each other very much.

"…I'm afraid that I might forget my first love"

"How can loving mom make you forget about your wife? Wouldn't you still remember her from your love for mom?"

Splinter was taken aback, hearing Leonardo say that made sense to him; just because he was falling in love with another woman, didn't mean he would forget all about Tang Shen.

"Splinter?" Leonardo said after not getting a response from his father.

"Thank you Leonardo" Splinter said.

"For what?"

"For guiding me through my troubles when I couldn't figure it out for myself"

"You're welcome?" Leonardo said a bit uncertainly, not entirely sure about what he had helped with.

Splinter had then given Leonardo a glass of water and sent him off to bed before he went back to the dojo and stood at the shrine, taking his old family photo in his hands to gaze at it.

"I will never forget you, my beloved" Splinter said as he placed his hand on the glass, "I have a new family now and… someone that I love; I never thought I could love again, but you taught me how to love and I will never forget that"

Splinter then placed the frame back on the shrine and soon headed off to his room to finally go to bed. As he lied there, he looked towards the folding screen that separated his and Chloe's room; knowing that she was there close to him, with him, gave him closure about his old life. He had an amazing home, a loving family and a beautiful woman who was a great friend, a loving mother and, hopefully, a wonderful wife.


	16. Year Seven: Date, Jealousy, Staying

Splinter took a deep breath before releasing it slowly, trying to calm his racing heart. This year was going to be so much different now that Splinter confirmed his new found feelings for Chloe; it's been years since he felt something like this and he doesn't know how to deal with it.

He didn't know what to do, he felt a bit insecure about the thought of him and Chloe since he was a mutant rat and she was still human. Splinter knew that it seemed ridiculous to feel like that since Chloe never had a problem with it, but it was only that wat since she saw him as a friend.

Splinter decided to take things a little slow with Chloe, making sure that his feelings weren't obvious to her, but he felt like he had to make her see him in the way he sees her. Splinter groaned quietly, he felt like a teenager qhen he was a groan man, it was embarrassing.

Splinter made his way to the kitchen and saw that Chloe was there with Michelangelo, who was sranding on a stool, and they both looked to be making some breakfast; pancakes in specific by the looks of it as there was flour all over the place and on Chloe and Michelangelo.

"Why is the kitchen such a mess?" Splinter asked.

"Michelangelo and I had... a bit of a war" Chloe laughed as she stirred the pancake batter.

"Mommy's teaching me to cook!" Michelangelo said excitedly.

"Isn't that adorable? Michelangelo wants me to teach him how to cook!" Chloe said with calming excitement.

Soon the other turtles walked into the kitchen.

"Why is this place such a mess?" Leonardo asked, wiping some of the flour off the stool before sitting down.

"We're making cooking more exciting" Chloe answered, pouring some of the batter onto a hot pan.

"We're making pancakes!" Michelangelo exclaimed happily.

Raphael made an irritated face as he looked at his younger brother, "You're cooking? With mom? What're you, a mama's boy?"

"I'm not a mama's boy!" Michelangelo shouted embarrassingly.

"Who're you to say that Mikey's a mama's boy?" Leonardo questioned, "You sleep in mom's room every night, even before she moved in with us; you're more of a mama's boy than Mikey is"

Raphael's brothers soon began to laugh at him as he looked embarrassed and irritated and they started to chant, "Mama's boy! Mama's boy!"

"What's wrong with being a mama's boy?" Chloe questioned, causing the boys to be silent as she spoke, "It just means he loves me" Chloe then made a fake sad look with sad puppy dog eyes, making her voice sound like she was going to cry, "Don't you boys love your mother?"

Splinter chuckled to himself as the boys began to deny their last argument and apologize, believing that Chloe was really heartbroken.

Chloe stopped her charade and placed a full stack of pancakes on the table, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I know you boys love me; nobody's a mama's boy and I don't want you teasing each other about that"

"Yes mother" the turtles said and began to eat the pancakes.

Chloe then started to wipe the counters clean of flour while Splinter helped by sweeping the floor. As they continued to clean, they weren't paying attention to where they were walking and they bumped into each other.

"Sorry" Chloe laughed a little.

"It's alright" Splinter said, then he started to reach toward her face, "You still have some flour smeared on your face"

Splinter used his thumb to wipe at the flour smudge on Chloe's face gently, almost like a caress; they just looked at each other with a smile as Splinter finished cleaning Chloe's face, his hand lingering for a bit.

The moment was rudely interrupted by a ring tone and Chloe had reached into her pocket to pull out her cellphone, walking away from Splinter to the other side of the table, talking on the phone as she continued to clean up the kitchen.

"Hello?" Chloe answered, "Oh yeah, I remeber you... from the party, yeah; what's going on with you? Nothing much with me, just hanging around at home" when the other person spoke on the other end of the phone, Chloe looked surprised and almost hesitant, "Oh, uh... that's a bit unexpected... I-I don't know; do you mind if I think about? Ok, ok I'll talk with you later, goodbye" Chloe then hung up her phone.

"Who was that Chloe?" Splinter asked, dumping the flour into the trashcan.

"Someone I met at the company party not that long ago" Chloe answered and continued to wipe the counter.

"What did they want?"

Chloe was a bit hesitant, looking at the boys for a moment before she grabbed Splinter's wrist and pulled them out of the kitchen and into the dojo for a more private conversation.

"What is it Chloe?" Splinter asked.

Chloe turned to look at Splinter, still looking nervous and hesitant about answering, "Well... at the company party, I started up a conversation with this man that was at my table and we chatted, we laughed, had some fun and somewhere along the way, we exchanged phone numbers and that was him who just called"

"And?" Splinter asked in a calm tone, but he felt worried and dread about what she was going to tell him next.

"He called me to ask... if I would go on a date with him"

Solinter suddenly felt like his world was crashing down around him again; it was, not entirely, bad enough that he had such overwhelming emotions for Chloe and he's accepted them, but now some guy had asked out her on a date, feeling like she was being taken away from him.

"Oh... that is... wonderful Chloe" Splinter had to hide his grief so Chloe would not know his feelings for her, at least not at that moment.

"I'm not so sure if I want to date because... truthfully, I've hadn't been on a date since middle school, and they were more of group dates than just one on one dates, so I wouldn't even know how dating goes for a grown up"

"I'm sure that you will do fine" Splinter didn't want to say those words, but Chloe was his friend foremost, he had to be supportive of her, even if that meant she goes out on a date with another man.

"Are you sure?" Chloe asked uncertainly, "What about the boys? They're going to be wondering about where I'm going every night"

"You are your own person Chloe, if you wish to go out on a date, then you can, do not worry so much about the boys"

Chloe looked conflicted before she walked passed Splinter and out of the dojo, not saying anything. Splinter leaned against the nearly fully matured oak tree, placing his hand over his face.

He didn't want to say any of that, but he couldn't stop Chloe from making her own decisions about how she should live her life. Some time had passed before Chloe visited Splinter in the dojo where he was meditating with Leonardo.

"Leonardo" Chloe spoke to get the two's attention, "Do you mind if you give your father and I some alone time?"

"Yes mother" Leonardo said and soon left the dojo.

"Is something the matter?" Splinter asked, remaining in his sitting position as Chloe sat down in front of him.

"Umm, sort of" Chloe said nervously, "I thought a lot about what we talked about this morning and... I decided to go out on the date" Splinter felt like his heart broke into a million pieces, but he didn't let it show, "I don't know if it'll turn into something serious, but I might as well try at least one date"

"... What time will you be going out?" Splinter asked, trying to keep his voice leveled.

"I'll leave some time around nine after I put the boys to bed and I'll be back sometime around ten"

Splinter just nodded his head, almost not trusting his own voice at the moment and Chloe soon left the dojo. Splinter just sat there for a long moment, trying to hold his emotions together, but after he got over his distress, he suddenly felt jealously.

The thought of Chloe going out with another man didn't set right with him now that he was thinking about it in a different way. He didn't know anything about the man that Chloe was going out with, not his name, they way his looks or what if he was even a good person. Splinter groaned in annoyance at an idea forming in his head, he didn't want to do it, but his jealously was overwhelming.

Once Chloe placed the boys in bed and dressed in her other set of clothes, she left to head up to the surface. Unaware to her, Splinter used his ninjutsu skills at a master level to follow Chloe in the shadows to where she was meeting her date at. When he peered around the corner, he became irritated when Chloe's apparent date showed up and gave her a hug; he hated to admit it, but her date was a handsome man.

Splinter watched as they walked down the street for a few blocks, made a turn and walked another few block, chatting and laughing on wherever they were heading to. Splinter followed from the rooftops until he stopped to look across the street to see them walk into a coffee shop and sit down at the table.

Splinter watched them for a while, seeing them talking about something, then laugh at something else, his jealousy never fading. But as he watched Chloe, seeing her smile and laugh, looking incredibly happy about being out, he felt like his jealousy over a man shouldn't matter as long as Chloe was happy, even if it broke his heart and caused him to fear for their furture.

Though Chloe said that she didn't know if it would turn into something serious, he was afraid that if it would - and he knew that Chloe was smart enough to know that she could never bring someone to the lair - then she would have to move back out of the lair and then the boys would question about where their mother was.

Splinter released a slow, sad sigh and soon began to head home and wait for Chloe to return and tried not to think about what kind of disasters would happen in the future. Time seemed to go so slow as Splinter waited for Chloe to return, even if she said she would come back in only an hour, it felt like forever when it turned to 9:30.

"I didn't think you'd be waiting up for me"

Splinter looked to see, to his surprise, that Chloe had returned, "Why are you back so early?"

Chloe made her way over to where Splinter was sitting in front of the tree and sat in front of him, looking at him for a moment of silence before she smiled and laid her head down on his lap, looking up at the ceiling. Splinter was confused and surprised about why she laid her head on his lap, but she had this look of contentment on her face that he didn't question it, not wanting to disturb her peaceful state of mind.

"Don't you want to know what's on my mind?" Chloe asked, tilting her head back so she could look up at Splinter.

"You seemed so peaceful, I didn't want to disturb you" Splinter told.

Chloe smile happily, her eyes soft, "That's why you were on my mind since I left"

Splinter felt his heart jump in slight excitement, then tried to keep his voice normal, "Why is that?"

Chloe sighed almost tiredly, closing her eyes for the moment, "I was with him, chatting, laughing, having so much fun; I didn't think adult dates would be so much fun" Splinter chuckled lightly, it didn't matter if his heart ached, he just wanted Chloe to be happy, "But through it all, I always thought of you, sometimes the boys as well, but my first thought was always of you"

Splinter felt the weight of jealousy and worry lift from his heart, replaced with incredible, overwhelming joy in a way that he hasn't felt in such a long time, "Why?"

Chloe shrugged, sighing again, "I don't know, I guess because you were the first person I've become so close to in such a long time, I suddenly felt like I was abandoning you, and the boys... I want to stay right here, with you and the boys"

"And nothing would make us happier, but you don't have to feel like that you _have_ to stay here, it is you life Chloe"

"Exactly, it is my life and I don't have to stay here, I _want_ to stay here; I built so much with you and the boys, you're my family, apart of my life. I haven't had much to call apart of my life, but I'm glad that it's with you and the boys. I'm staying and you're going to have to live with that"

Splinter chuckled, this time with happiness, "I've already learned how to live with"

Chloe chuckled as well and continued to lay with Splinter and he didn't say anything about it, he just let her lie on his lap, letting her rest. Splinter was hesitant as he lifted his hand, but he closed his eyes, took in a quiet deep breath and placed his hand on Chloe's head, brushing her hair back a few times.

When Chloe just smiled, not saying anything, Splinter continued to brush her hair, happy to know that Chloe was staying with him, with the boys, wanting to stay as a family.


	17. Year Seven: Dancing, Blushing, What?

Splinter, Chloe and the turtles were sitting in the livingroom watching a family-comedy movie. Splinter and Chloe sat close next to each other while the turtles sat closer to them; Leonardo sat on the floor between Splinter and Chloed, Raphael sat in Chloe's lap, Michelangelo was leaning against Chloe by her side and Donatello sat just above between Splinter and Chloe. As they watched the movie, they became curious about a particular scene playing.

"Mom," Leonardo spoke.

"Yes sweetie?" Chloe answered.

"Have you and Splinter ever danced together?"

Both Splinter and Chloe were taken aback by the question.

"Uhh, no Leonardo" Splinter answered, "Your mother and I never danced before"

"Why?" Michelangelo asked.

"I guess we never thought about it because we never thought to do something like that with each other" Chloe answered, "Why the sudden question?"

"Because those parents are dancing and we've never seen you two dance before" Raphael answered.

"Can you two dance now?" Donatello asked out of nowhere.

The question caught the two adults completely off guard and they looked at each other with uncertainty.

"I guess I won't mind" Chloe answered, surprising Splinter, but it made him happy, "But I haven't dance for so long, I'm afraid that I might step on his feet"

"Neither have I" Splinter said with a small chuckle, "But it sounds like fun; we'll take things slow"

Chloe felt herself blush as she smile shyly, glancing to the side for a moment before she looked back at Splinter; the thought of her dancing with him made her a little nervous, but it did sound like fun.

"Ok" Chloe said, releasing a short puff of laughter, "But I warned you, so don't blame me if I stomp on your feet"

"I won't"

Chloe and Solinter then stood in front of each other and they held each other's left hand up as Chloe place her other hand on Splinter's shoulder and Splinter placed his other hand on the side of Chloe's waist. Donatello had then placed a tape in the boombox - that the turtles fished out of the sewers - Michelangelo pressed the play button and Donatello had turned the volume up a bit.

Raphael and Leonardo had then quickly cleared the pit out of the beanbags - that they had also found in the sewers - so that their parents had enough room to dance. They both danced slowly, keeping in time of the slow music, but Chloe kept looking down at her feet.

"You're not suppose to look at your feet" Splinter told.

"Just because I haven't dance in a long time doesn't mean I don't know what to do; I just didn't want to ruin the dance by stepping on your feet"

"You won't ruin the dance; if you step on my foot, I won't mind, but you have to keep your eyes on me, I'll lead"

Chloe looked up and smiled, "Thanks"

The two continued to dance at a slow and even pace, but then Splinter started to move them around a little fast, spinning Chloe around every now and again. Chloe laughed in joy, she had forgotten at how much fun it was to dance. As they continued to dance and Chloe was starting to become more aware of everything around her, she became aware of her position with Splinter.

She noticed how he held her close to him, how he held her gently. She became slughtly startled when Splinter suddenly dippes her back and when she looked up at him in surprise, she became confused by the way he smiled at her, the way his eyes looked as he stared down at her. It all seeme so gentle and... loving. Chloe started to feel her face heat up and her heart race fast, confusing her further.

Was she... was she blushing? By the way Splinter was looking at her? Why was Splinter the cause of the blush that was spreading through her face? Chloe suddenly pushed Splinter back gently, confusing him of why she pulled away.

"Umm, I-I think that should be enough for tonight" Chloe stuttered slightly "I have to meet early with my editor, sooo... goodnight"

Chloe then hurried to her room, closed the door and began to pace, trying to fan away the possibly permanent blush from her face. Chloe placed her hand over her heart, feeling it beat rapidly and tries to calm it down.

"What's going on?" Chloe whispered out loud, breathing in and out slowly, but heavily.

Chloe began to think about her dance with Splinter, the way he held and looked at her, about what she suddenly felt. Her heart was frantic, her face was scorching and now she felt like she was seeing him differently. Chloe stopped in place, looking almost horrified, feeling afraid and confused, she knew this feeling, she's written about this feeling. She was...

"What?!"


	18. Year Seven: Sick, Caring, Present

Chloe was lying in her bed on her back, looking up at the ceiling with a dazed look before she sneezed violently and a deep cough followed. She grabbed the last tissue from the recently opened tissue box and blew her nose in it, groaning through her swollen nose.

"Are you sure you don't want us to help take care of you mom?" Raphael asked worriedly as he and his brothers stood on the other side of Chloe's bedroom door.

"Yes" Chloe answered in a huff, her body temperature high enough to make her dizzy, even when lying down, "Just stay as far away from me, I don't want any of you catching my flu"

"Leave your mother to rest boys" Splinter told as he came into the room with a bowl of soup and a cup of tea.

"But shouldn't we start getting ready?" Leonardo asked.

"Yes, but don't rush yourselves, you need to give your mother some time to get a little better, she doesn't want any of you getting sick"

The turtles soon ran out of the dojo and Splinter walked into the room, closing the door behind him.

"I wish I wasn't so sick where you have to take care of me, I don't want you getting sick as well" Chloe said tiredly.

"Don't worry Chloe, I haven't been sick in years" Splinter reassured as he sat down beside of Chloe.

He placed the tray table of soup and tea just above Chloes's head, then took the now warm wash cloth from her forehead and dipped it into the cold water bowl, wringing it out.

"I was like that too, but now I have a temperature of 103, a stuffed nose, a scratchy throat and a headache" Chloe argued.

"That is why you can't take care of yourself, you'll get to dizzy and fall down"

Chloe sighed, then she started to cough into her hand so she wouldn't spread germs to Splinter. Chloe closed her eyes for a while, trying to ease her headache. She didn't dare open them when she felt Splinter's hand rest on her forehead, then it moved down to her burning face.

"You still have a high temperature" Splinter said worriedly and placed the cold, damp cloth back on her forehead.

"I don't think I have the strength to sit up to eat" Chloe groaned, this time coughing lightly in her fist, "My head is spinning even when lying down"

Chloe became startled when she felt the upper part of her body lift up before being laid back down, but she was tilting up slightly. She looked up to see that Splinter placed her in the crook of her arm, holding her close to him. Splinter then lifted up the spoon, blew on the hot soup to cool it and held it to Chloe. Chloe suddenly felt her face heat up for a different reason, the gesture was very caring despite it feeling like she was being held like a child.

Chloe was glad that she managed to keep the soup and tea down; when Chloe finished the tea, she tensed when she felt Splinter's hand brush back her hair behind her ear. She looked up at Splinter, who was looking down at her with a small smile. Chloe didn't know what to do, Splinter was still holding her and she didn't know what to say... or even if she wanted to say something.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!" Chloe nearly jumped out of her skin by the boys yelling coming out of nowhere in the comfortable silence.

"Boys!" Chloe gasped, pulling away from Splinter to sit up on her own and looked to see the boys standing right in front of them, making her wonder how long they've been there.

"We're sorry that you got sick on your bithday mom" Donatello said.

"But we made sure that we cleaned the place for you so you wouldn't have to do it tomorrow" Leonardo told.

"And I helped made the soup!" Raphael blurted out, pushing his brothers aside so that he stood closer to Chloe with a proud smile.

"Are you feeling better mom?" Michelangelo asked.

"Yes, I'm feeling much better than I did before" Chloe answered with a weary smile, feeling sleepy after eating the warm soup, "Though I wish I wasn't sick either, I would've liked spending my birthday with you boys"

"Just get better, ok mom" Raphael said, smiling big.

"We can celebrate your birthday together tomorrow" Leonardo said.

"And we got you a present!" Michelangelo said as he placed a sloppily wrapped box in Chloe's lap.

"It's from all of us, including Splinter" Donatello told.

Chloe looked at the turtles and Splinter with a smile, "Thank you, all of you"

Chloe began to unwrap the box and lifted the lid; she was surprised to see that it was a photo album that was leeking with what appeared to be glitter and confetti. She opened the album and began to look through at the pictures that were mainly of her, whether it was her working, cooking, doing laundry, tending to her garden or training in her ninjutsu and laughing and smiling.

There were passages underneath the pictures that told her she was a great mom, a beautiful, generous and strong person and a great friend. She could tell who's written what in the passages by the spelling and words that were used.

"I love it!" Chloe said, trying to prevent tears of joy from running down her face, "I love it so much, it's such a wonderful present"

"We're glad you love it" Splinter said and stood ip, ushering the boys out, "Alright my sons, let your mother rest so that she'll feel better tomorrow"

"Goodnight mom!" the turtles said as they waved and soon left and Splinter closed the door behind him.

Chloe smiled with so much joy, chuckling to herself as she laid down and contined to look through the photos. When she was getting near the end, she was surprised to see that the last few pages in the album were of her and Splinter together. She saw that in the pictures, she could see that same loving smile that Splinter had when they danced for the first time in the pictures.

Then when she came to the last photo, she gasped slightly when she saw that it was a picture of her and Splinter when he had dipped her back in the dance. Chloe looked at herself in the picture and saw that her flustered emotions were as clear as day. Chloe closed the book and settled herself in bed to sleep, her thoughts keeping her awake as she hoped that Splinter didn't see the way she felt when he had dipped her, giving her such a warm and loving look that no one has ever shown her before.

 **Ok, I just want to tell you now that from here on, possibly the rest of the chapters are going to be really short, but I'll try to add good detail to it.**


	19. Year Eight: Dream, Distance, Confront

Chloe was looking around in confusion as she stood in the dojo with Splinter in front of her; she doesn't remeber coming into the dojo or when Splinter came into the room. Chloe took a step back when Splinter started to walk closer to her until there was only a small space between them, then he place his hand on the side of her face while he placed his other hand on her shoulder.

Chloe was now deeply confused about what was happening and started to become frightened when Splinter suddenly started to learn in closer and closer towards her. Chloe gasped and shot up from her bed, looking around frantically for Splinter before she realized that it was just a dream. She ran her hand over her face and stood up to make her way out of the room and to the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

"What was that about?" Chloe whispered in confusion, her face still blushing from embarrassment and slight joy.

Chloe shook her head and started to make her way back to her room; she jumped slight when she saw that Splinter was also in the dojo, apparently pacing with worry.

"Chloe" Splinter said when he saw her enter the room and made his way over to her, "Are you alright? I had heard you gasping and I thought you were troubled about something"

Chloe face lit up red again and tried to laugh it off, "Troubled? Haha, why would I be troubled? I just had a bad dream was all, but it was just a dream, yup, just a dream that happened inside my subconscious and wasn't real at all"

Splinter was confused about why Chloe was acting like that, but then he started to walk closer until there was a small space between them. Chloe started to look afriad when Splinter placed his hand on the side of her face and his other hand on her shoulder. It was just like the dream and she knew what was coming next, but she knew she had to avoid it, she didn't know what to do if she let Splinter lean in all the way to her. Chloe acted quick and manvored herself so that she gave Splinter a hug instead.

"We should get to bed now, you have early training and I have to cook for the boys" Chloe said, pulling out of the hug and began to back up towards her room, "Plus I have to clean the boys room since I know they haven't done it last week and I got some work I have to get finished" Chloe had accidentally back up into her door and blindly searched for the handle to open it and walked it, closing the door halfway, "So goodnight!"

Chloe then shut the door all the way and leaned back against it, looking confused and slightly afraid about what just happened; what had happened just a moment ago was exactly the same as her dream, except she prevented it from ending the way she thought it was going to end. Chloe made her way back to bed, laid down and covered her head with the blankets, lying there awake so she wouldn't have another dream like that.

* * *

The next few days were stressful to Chloe, she's been doing her best to keep a distance between her and Splinter and to make sure that they were never alone together. She's been having reaccuring dreams like the last time and they were all of Splinter either trying to tell her something or trying to do something and they always came true the next day or a few days after; she was beginning to become paranoid whenever she was around Splinter.

Splinter had also notice that Chloe was keeping her distance from him or making sure that they weren't alone even when he tried to so he could talk to her about that night. And even when he tried to say or do something, she always managed to avoid it all, making him wonder how she knew what to do at that moment. Splinter then finally had enough after a week had passes and she continued to avoid him, he wanted to know what was going on with her.

"Chloe" Splinter said as they were in the kitchen with the boys and she was washing the dishes, "May I speak with you, in private?"

Chloe tensed, but didn't let it show, "About what? Can't you just tell me here? I'm in the middle of washing the dishes"

"No, it needs to be in private" Splinter said and grabbed Chloe's wrist and began to drag her out of the dojo, "You boys stay here and finish your dinner"

Once Splinter lead Chloe to the dojo, she flicked her wrist to get it free from Splinter's grasp.

"What was that all about?" Chloe questioned irritably, rubbing her wrist.

"I should be asking you the same thing"

"What?"

"Why have you been avoiding me the past week?" Chloe tensed, this time it showed since she didn't think she would be confronted like this, "Answer me Chloe"

"Well what do you expect me to do with everything that's been happening lately" Chloe countered, deciding to confront Splinter as well.

"What are you talking about?"

Chloe was extremely hesitant as she looked away, quiet for a long moment since ahe didn't want to blurt it out in case she had been wrong about her theory.

"Chloe" Splinter said in a gentler tone as he approached her, placing a hand under her chin to make her look up at him.

When he saw her face, her expression was a mixture of sadness and confusion.

"Are you in love with me?"


	20. Year Eight: Confession, Different, Try

Splinter felt like his hear would cease beating at Chloe's sudden accusation, he almost felt like he wasn't ready for it, but he had to be now since she called him on it. He felt like he needed a little time to gather himself together before he could actually tell her himself.

"What?"

"I know how strange it sounds now that I said it out loud, I'm probably over thinking this, but I-I've thought this through and I looked at it at every angle, but" Chloe took a moment to take a deep breath as she closed her eyes, reluctant to see what expression Splinter would make, "I want the truth"

Splinter closed his eyes and breathed calmly and slowly to compose himself, "...Yes"

Chloe was quiet for a long moment, trying to think about what to say next after receiving a confession from her closest friend; but then again, he was the only person she's felt comfortable around, that makes her feel like she can be open and honest and not be rejected and alone. That made her even more afriad that if it didn't work out, she would feel like nothing would be the same. Then she began to think deeper about that, it was already different, for her; but what about Splinter? How long was it different for him.

"How long?" Chloe asked softly, "When did you realized?"

"After you had come home from your company party" Splinter told, "I had thought you were very beautiful, more than I've ever seen and that confused me; after thinking over it for many struggling hours, I came to realized that... I love you Chloe"

Chloe's face turned a light red as she looked away bashfully, "I... I don't know what to think... you were my closest friend for so long and seeing you so differently now, I just-"

"Seeing me differently now?" Splinter interrupted, looking confused. Chloe looked shocked and slightly terrified at letting that slip out, "How do you see me now?"

Chloe rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment and confusion, "I don't know... I'm so confused, it just happened so fast and I started to look closely at our past and then I started to become so paranoid after I had these dreams of you and me that I just... shut myself away when I get scared and confused"

Splinter walked cautiously closer to Chloe so he wouldn't startle her, "Chloe, how do you see me now?"

"I told you, I don't know-!" Chloe became startled when Splinter placed his hands on the sides of her face so he could get her to look at him.

"Chloe"

Chloe looked like she was near tears, "I don't want this to make things different between us because we might never be the same again"

"We should at least try to make this work" Splinter suggested as he moved his hands to Chloe's shoulders, then he chuckled lightly, "We've been through worse and we came out better for it"

"Yeah, but... this time it's just you and me, no one can be blamed for what will happens between us"

"Do not be so afraid Chloe, let us try to make this work"

Chloe glanced to the side as her whole face began to light up a bright red, "O-ok"

Splinter smiled joyfully and pulled Chloe closer to him, wrapping his arms around her frame as he hugged her tightly. Chlos was still embarrassed and confused about this big change happening in her life, but Splinter was right, she should at least give it a try.


	21. Year Eight: Nervous, Clumsy, Laughter

Chloe and Splinter sat at the table in the kitchen across from each other, both of their hearts were beating hard and rapidly as they ate dinner on their first official date. They didn't know what to say, they were much more nervous than they thought they would be despite planning it out. But in the middle of their dinner, when Chloe was reaching out for her tea, she was too distracted by her thoughts that she accidentally bumped her hand against it, causing it to spill across the counter.

Chloe quickly tried to clean the mess up by grabbing a napkin, but Splinter's cup was on the edge of the napkin and when Chloe grabbed it, she had then spilled his tea all over his lap. Chloe covered the bottom half of her face as her whole face turned a dark red with embarrassment, she couldn't believe how clumsy she had been. They both stared at each other for a moment before Splinter began to chuckle until it broke out in laughter between the two.

"Oh my god!" Chloe exclaimed as she continued to laugh, "What's wrong with us?"

"I do not know" Splinter said as he cleaned himself from the spilt tea.

"I'm sorry, this all seems so awkward since... you know, it's us, it's pretty big being our first date and I didn't want to ruin it"

"We both ruined it a little by being too nervous, we already know so much about each other, about each other's past and so much more now"

Chloe looked to the side as she brushed her hair behind her ear, "I know, but... you still make me feel nervous"

Splinter reached over and grabbed Chloe's hand and she looked at him with surprise, "You make me feel nervous too"

Chloe blushed deeper and smiled, holding onto Splinter's hand as well and they began to talk a lot easier now since they finally broke the ice.


	22. Year Nine: Mother, Father, Almost

Chloe was sleeping peacefully when she was suddenly ripped from her sleep by someone shaking her and when she jolted up, looking around frantically, she saw that the boys and Splinter were in her room and Raphael was holding a tray of partially sloppy made breakfast.

"Happy mother's day!" The boys cheered, Michelangelo throwing confetti at Chloe.

"Aww" Chloe said, spitting the confetti away from her mouth, "Thank you so much boys"

"We made it all by ourselves" Leonardo told as he set the tray on Chloe's lap.

Chloe looked at the breakfast with an uncertain smile, "I can see that, you boys did... a very good job"

Chloe had then saw something in the omelet and carefully picked out an eggshell.

"You don't have to worry about doing anything around the house" Leonardo said, "I'll cook the food"

"I'll keep the rooms clean" Michelangelo said.

"I'll be there for anything you need mom!" Raphael exclaimed.

"Raph only got that job because he had Leo and Mikey in a headlock when they said they wanted that job" Donatello told, making Raphael glare harshly and embarrassingly at his brother for telling her about that, "And I'll help keep your garden sustained and refreshed... with this!" Donatello then pulled out a flask of glowing yellow liquid, "It's my latest invention, I made it specifically for your garden to make sure that it never wilts again!"

Chloe looked nervously at the flask, the last time Donatello made something to help her garden grow faster, it caused it to blow up, "Uhh, that's... wonderful Donatello, but I think that it's better to let nature decide on how the garden grows and it's good hard work"

"Ok mom"

The turtles soon left to take care of the house and Splinter walked over to sit beside of Chloe as she started to eat the breakfast.

"Don't worry about the boys, I'll keep a close eye on them" Splinter said.

"Thank you" Chloe said with a sigh of relief, then she startes to laugh, "The last time Leonardo tried to cook, he broke the toaster and burned a hole in one of the pots, Michelangelo always made a bigger mess when he cleans, Donatello accidentally pulled out the rice thinking it was weeds and Raphael always fought with any one of them when he thought they were doing it wrong"

Splinter chuckled at the memory, "Like you said, they're boys, they're pretty rambunctious now"

Chloe then smirked a little, "Yes, but it'll be different today because it's Mother's Day, that means the father has to take care of everything in the house and the mother gets to kick her feet up and relax"

"You deserve to have some time to relax, you do so much for this family"

Chloe smiled shyly, "So do you Splinter; we both share an equal amount of the work and love for the boys"

Splinter smiled and hugged Chloe before he stood up and went to make sure that the boys didn't wreak havoc on the house again.

* * *

Splinter watched as the boys sparred with each, impressed that they were improving dramatically.

"Sooo" Chloe said as she walked into the dojo and stood beside of Splinter, "Is there anything in specific you'd like for Father's Day today?"

Splinter rubbed his beard in thought for a moment as he had his eyes closed before he opened them back up.

"Yame!" Splinter calles out and the boys stopped and kneeled down in a row in front of their parents, "You have all excelled wonderfully in your training and, since Chloe has brought up Father's Day, what I would like for today it for you to finally pick your weapons" the boys began to cheer loudly and high-three each other, "Now remeber, your weapon choose's you as much as you chose it"

The boys rushed to finally try out Splinter's weapon collection and hours passed as they tried out weapons to find which one would be best for them. They had to take small breaks every now and again when they accidentally hit themselves with the weapons or would accidentally cut themselves.

Soon after trying out nearly every single weapon they had, the boys finally picked out their weapons that would be best for them. Leonardo had picked out a pair of katanas, Raphael picked out a pair of sais, Michelangelo picked out a pair of nunchakus that converts into kusari-gama and Donatello had picked out a bo staff that had a hidden blade at one end.

"You boys have chosen well" Splinter said, "These weapons will help you become more swift and balanced; but it is getting late, we will begin your arsenal training tomorrow"

The boys groaned in disappointment and soon put their weapons up and left the dojo to get ready for bed.

"This has been a good Father's Day" Splinter said as he and Chloe picked up the other stranded weapons that the boys left out.

"Whatever makes you happy" Chloe said as she placed the weapons on the wall.

Splinter heard that Chloe had a slight worried tone in her voice, "Is something wrong?"

"I'm just a little scared about the boys using such sharp weapons, they really cut themselves up trying the pick them out"

"I was like that as well when I was practicing with weaponry, but they will learn fast at how to wield and deflect other weapons; the real challenge is trying to wield a weapon and use their ninjutsu training all at once"

"Well I'm sure a ninja master like yourself can handle it... maybe"

Splinter gave a small look at Chloe's teasing, "While we're on the subject, maybe you should try to choose a weapon of your own"

"That's ok, I'm not much of a weapon girl; plus, you'll have your hands full enough with four nine year olds to teach"

Splinter sighed tiredly at the thought, they were all so eager, so it would be hard to make them focus on their advanced training.

He looked at Chloe when he felt her hand rest on his shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll make sure to keep the boys in line"

Splinter never knew how she could always sense what he was feeling, but he was grateful for it, "Excuse me, but who is the ninjutsu master here?"

"Oh shut up" Chloe laughed at Splinter's taunting, "It's been known throughout time that children are more afriad of their mother then their father"

Splinter chuckled, "I can hardly see why they would be afraid of you when you are so caring and loving"

Chloe blushed at Splinter compliment, "You know why" Chloe then began to walk towards the exit, but looked back for a moment to give a teasing smirk, "You've seen that side of me"

Splinter chuckled to himself at the memory as he finished placing the weapons on the wall, thinking that it was a little true that children were more afriad of their mother than their father.

* * *

Several days passes since the boys received their weapons and they were excelling perfectly with wielding them, next was learning how to move skillfully with them.

"Yame!" Splinter called out and the boys stopped, placing their weapons in the straps that held them, "You boys have done well today"

The turtles soon left, bragging about their weapons and which one was better. Chloe looked at the wall of weapons with fascination, seeing the boys use their weapons so well made her wonder about using a weapon as well. She picked up one of the katanas from the wall, struggling slightly at the surprising weight of it.

"You must be careful Chloe" Splinter warned as he suddenly appeared behind her, making Chloe jump slightly,"That is a nodachi and it is much more difficult to wield than a katana since it is much longer, mainly used by samurai's"

"I know, it's crazy heavy"

"I thought you weren't a 'weapon girl'" Splinter said in a mocking tone.

"I know, but that's what I thought at that time, now it's this time and seeing the boys training with their weapons made me wonder"

Chloe tried to lift the nodachi, but she lost her balance for a moment before Splinter caught her, holding onto Chloe's hands as they gipped the nodachi so it wouldn't slip from her grasp.

"You must keep your stance wide and solid when you wield a nodachi" Splinter told, helping her raise the weapon into the air, then began to help her move it around slowly, "And your movements should fluid and swift"

Chloe smile a little and looked back at Splinter, but her smile had dropped when she realized how close he really was to her, his face right next to her as he looked at her as well. They looked at each other for what seemed like a long moment before they started to lean in toward each other.

"MOOOOM!"

Chloe and Splinter both nearly jumped out of their skins when they heard the boys yell, then they rushed towards the living room when they heard a crashing noise and they looked to see that the turtles were piled up, fighting with each other.

"Boys!" Chloe called out as she and Splinter rushed to break up the fight, "What is going on here?"

"Leo said that his lame swords are better than my sais!" Raphael argued.

"That's because they are!" Leo talked back.

"A weapon is only as good as the ninja who wields it" Splinter told.

"Oh sweetie, you got cut" Chloe said worriedly as she looked at Michelangelo's arm to see that there was a small cut.

"I accidentally got caught by Raph's sai when we were fighting" Michelangelo told, looking at the wound.

"Let's get that cleaned and bandaged up"

"I'll deal with the others" Splinter told as Chloe began to lead Michelangelo to the kitchen.

As Chloe began to bandage Michelangelo's wound, she started to think about what had almost happened in the dojo, blushing at the thought of her and Splinter nearly kissing.

"Are you ok mom?" Michelangelo asked.

"Huh?" Chloe asked without thinking since she was caught up in her thoughts, but then came back to reality, "What was that sweetie?"

"Your face is red"

Chloe touched her face and felt that it was warm and that made her blush even deeper in embarrassment, "Oh it's nothing, it's just that... it's a little warm in here"

"You're not getting sick again, are you?" Michelangelo asked worriedly.

"No honey, I just... have a lot on my mind"

"But why would it turn your face red?"

"When your older"

"But-" Chloe placed her finger over Michelangelo's mouth to stop him from asking again.

"When your older"

After Chloe finished bandaging Michelangelo's arm, he ran off, leaving Chloe to her thoughts about what had almost happened with her and Splinter, making her wonder what could have happened if it did. Chloe felt something press against her head and she looked up to see that Splinter was standing there and she blushed when she realized that he placed a kiss on her head. Chloe blushed a bright red as she looked away and nervously twirled a strand of her hair.

"MOOOOM!"

Chloe jumped again in surprise and sighed a little as she stood up and made her way to the living room. Splinter watched as she walked out, also thinking about what had almost happened for a moment before Chloe came back in, looked nervous for a bit before she leaned up and placed a kiss on his cheek before rushing back out of the kitchen. Splinter was surprised as he touched the spot where Chloe had kissed him before he smiled happily, Chloe smiling as well as she made her way towards the boys room.


	23. Year Ten: Valentines, Romance, Kiss

Chloe and Splinter felt like they could barely find the time to spend some time alone as the boys seem to always want their attention; whatever it was, even making things up, they were always calling for either of their attention. Chloe soon managed to get the boys distracted by the video games to get to the dojo where Splinter was.

"What's with the boys lately?" Chloe question as she sat beside of Splinter while he meditated, 'They've been really needy, more than usual"

"They are ten now, they have more energy" Splinter said.

"A lot more than us, that's for sure" Chloe sighes tiredly and rested her head in Splinter's lap, looking up at the ceiling, "We need to think of a way to distract the boys long enough to spend Valentines together"

"Valentines was months ago Chloe"

"Exactly and we couldn't find two minutes to spend together for it, the boys kept us busy with their excuses"

Splinter stroked his beard in thought, he also wanted to spend more time with Chloe alone since they're finally dating, "What do you suggest we do to distract them"

Chloe started to think as well before she snapped her fingers at an idea, "Ninja scavenger hunt"

"Ninja scavenger hunt?"

"Yeah, they're ten, they'll buy it easily; we just make a list long enough for us to have dinner, watch a movie and maybe dance a little, it'll be romantic since we need a little romance as our day is usually filled with fighting, training and screaming kids"

Splinter chuckled a little, "That sounds wonderful"

Splinter and Chloe soon started on a long list of items for the boys to look for and when they headed off to to search for them, they had their evening alone together. They ate a wonderful dinner that they prepared together, having a little fun by throwing some food at each other, then they watched a nice romantic movie, relaxing in the peaceful serenity of a quiet home. Then when the movie had ended, they began to dance.

"Dancing with you makes me think about how I fell in love with you" Chloe told, laughing when Splinter spun her around.

"What about it made you fall in love with me?" Splinter asked.

"The way you held me close and gently and when you dipped me, you had this loving smile on your face; no one's ever given me that kind of look before"

Splinter smiled and dipped Chloe, causing her to laugh at what he was doing, thinking that it was sweet and silly of him to do that for her. They looked at each other with a gentle smile and loving eyes, but Chloe suddenly became shocked when Splinter kissed her out of the blue. At first Chloe didn't know what to do, but she closed her eyes and accepted the gentle kiss.

"Chloe, master Splinter!" the turtles called out as they rushes back into the lair, "We found everything on the-"

The boys froze when they saw that Splinter and Chloe were kissing each other, but they stopped when they heard the boys come in and looked at them as they stood up straight; everyone was quiet for a long moment.

"Ewwww!" the boys cringed in disgust.

"Why would you do that?" Raphael questioned, covering his eyes.

"Your parents!" Michelangelo added, "You're not supposed to do that!"

"I think I need to wash my eyes" Donatello said as he rubbed his eyes.

"I think I'm gonna be sick" Leonardo groaned.

The turtles ran out of the living room, leaving the two adults in embarrassed silence. But then it was broken when Chloe snorted a bit and buried her face into Splinter's robe as she tried to laugh quietly.

"That was too cute!" Chloe laughed, "I think we traumatized them"

Chloe pulled away from Splinter and used both of her hands to cover around her mouth and nose. Splinter saw that nearly her whole face was burning a bright red as she continued to smile, taking glances at him before looking away embarrassingly. Splinter smiled and brought Chloe into a tight hug and she hugged him back, but kept laughing every now and then.

She was so overcomed with joy that she and Splinter finally kissed that she started to laugh, but was too embarrassed to say that, so she said it about the boys reaction instead, almost glad that they walked in on them kissing or she would have been really embarrassed if he found out the truth.

"You already know, don't you?" Chloe asked as they continued to hold each other.

"Yes" Splinter answered with a small chuckle.

Chloe had finally stopped laughing, but she still smiled happily, forgetting about her embarrassment and thought that this was their best valentines yet, but was excited that there was more to come for them.


	24. Year Eleven: Busy, Stop, Relax

Splinter made his way to Chloe's room with a tray of tea, but when he tried to open the door, he was surprised to see that it was locked, usually her door was never locked. He then started to hear Chloe talking, but he knew that she was on the phone, though it sounded like she was arguing more than talking.

"Chloe" Splinter called out, hoping that she would hear him, but it seemed that she was too busy with whatever she was arguing about.

Splinter thought that Chloe could use a break, she's been working hard all week with her next upcoming graphic novel and she was starting to look stressed out. Splinter knocked a bit louder and the door swung open quickly, surprising Splinter when he saw that Chloe looked irritated as she had her phone held between her shoulder and ear and her hands were full of papers.

"Not now!" Chloe snapped as she closed her phone, "I'm very busy right now, that's why I locked the door"

Chloe had closed the door, but Splinter managed to grab the door before it closed shut, "Chloe, wait a minute"

"I said that I'm busy; I have to finish up this weeks comic book and my editor's asking me to start up two new comic books this week as well, I can't do anything with you or the boys right now, go meditate or something"

Chloe tried again to shut the door, but Splinter used his full strength to open the door all the way and stepped in, "Chloe"

"I can't have these distractions, I am on a deadline here and I don't want to disappoint anyone"

"Chloe!" Splinter said louder, grabbing Chloe by her shoulders so she would stop running around, "You need to slow down"

"Did you not just hear me a second ago?"

"Yes, I did"

"Then what do you-"

"You need to stop this Chloe" Splinter interrupted, "You've been running yourself into the ground this past week, you need to take a break"

Chloe sighed tiredly, "I want take a break too, I miss relaxing with you and playing with the boys, but this job is driving me crazy"

"If you hate it so much, then why don't you just stop?"

"Because I like comic books, I like creating stories and characters and giving them life as if they were real; it's also the best way for me to be expressive in a creative way depending on how my day is going"

"Then why work stressfully on something you love and find joy in?"

Chloe was a bit surprised by his insightful question and began to think it over, "Wow, you have a good point there, but the first few years was fun and just because it's getting stessful doesn't mean I have to quit. I'm sorry about being so distant and cranky, but I'm sure it'll blow over soon and we can go back to the way we were"

"I hope so; now, why don't you take a break and relax with a cup of tea with me"

Chloe smiled and placed her papers and phone on the desk, after she placed her ringer on silence, and she and Splinter relaxed under the oak tree, sitting close next to each other as they had their tea. Afterwards, Chloe decided to play with the turtles for a while and the whole afternoon melted away her stress from working like a crazy person, happy to know she had someone to help her calm down and relax when she needed it. 


	25. YearTweleve:Christmas,Together,Mistletoe

**Alright, I'm nearly, sadly, done with this story, just a few more chapters and it'll be complete. I'm gonna be sad that this story is almost over, but that doesn't mean I'm finish with my OC character and her life with the turtles and Splinter, plus, there will be a big surprise on my next story with her with new characters and the truth behind Chloe's twisted life.**

* * *

The boys and Splinter were in the middle of the living room decorating the Christmas tree; Splinter had managed to grab a nice tree for Christmas tomorrow, but it wasn't easy. Usually Chloe would get the tree, but she was suddenly called in for work and she hasn't come back yet, so Splinter had to get the tree.

"Splinter, when is mom coming back home?" Leonardo asked.

"Yeah, she's missing out on the tree decoration" Donatello said.

"I'm sure she will be home soon" Splinter said, though he wasn't so sure.

Splinter's been noticing that Chloe's work has required her to come in for days and on some special occasions with the family.

"Will she be home for Christmas?" Michelangelo asked with sad puppy eyes.

Splinter wanted to tell his son what he wanted to hear, but it seemed that he couldn't give him a reassuring answer.

"Of course I'd be here for Christmas" everyone looked to see Chloe walk into the lair and she had a lot of bags in her arms, "Why would I miss spending time together on something as special as Christmas with my family?"

"Mom!" The turtles cheered happily as they rushed to give their mother a big group hug.

"Go put these presents under the tree and I'll come help finish decorating it" Chloe told as she held out the bags.

The boys took the bags and rushed back over to the tree and placed the bags under it while Splinter walked over to give Chloe a hug.

"I'm glad you're going to be here for Christmas" Splinter said.

"And every day after that" Chloe added; Splinter pulled back to look at Chloe in confusion, "I quit my job"

"You did?" Splinter asked in surprise, but he was happy that she wasn't going to be working at that company anymore, "Why is that?"

"They told me that I had to work on Christmas and I couldn't take it anymore, that was the last straw; I tolerated enough of their selfish behavior, I nearly quit all the other times when they called me in on days that were important for the family. You and the boys are so much more important to me than some job that makes me spend less time with the ones I love"

Splinter smiled happily and pulled Chloe into another hug, "I'm happy that you'll be here all the time now"

Chloe smiled and pulled out of the hug to search through her purse, "I also bought something that might make up for the time that was lost to that job"

Splinter laughed a little when Chloe held a mistletoe above their heads and they gave each other a loving kiss. The turtles saw and started to complain about the display of affection between their parents.

"Oh calm down" Chloe told the boys, but then smirked at an idea in her head, "Who wants a mistletoe kiss?"

The boys started to run away from their mother as she chased after them with the mistletoe, giving them a kiss on the cheek when she caught them or when Splinter helped catch them for her, all of them laughing in joy as they spent time together as a family.


	26. Year Thirteen:Sneaking,Lecture,Teenagers

**Ok everyone, I'm sadly to say that I only have one more chapter after this and I don't know when I'll have it published because I want to make it a good ending, but try not to hope for the best and I thank you all for reading my story, I had fun writing it and I liked the reviews, thank you for them.**

It was late in the night when four shadowy figures were sneaking around the lair towards the exit, but they stopped for a moment to take another cautious look around.

"Guys, I don't think we should be doing this" Leonardo advised his younger siblings, "I mean, sneaking out to go up to the surface? What is mom and Splinter find out? We'll be in so much trouble if we get caught!"

"Yeah, _if_ " Raphael said, "They're both asleep and it's late, we're not gonna get caught, unless you nark on us" Leonardo looked like he wanted to say something, but kept his mouth shut, "That's what I thought, now lets get out of here"

"You're really taking risks, aren't you Raphael?"

The boys tensed and looked to see Chloe sitting on the stone of the turnstiles, one of her legs crossed over the other and leaning back on her hands, looking relaxed.

"Mom!" The turtles exclaimed in surprised and slight fear, then they started to speak all at the same time trying to make an excuse.

"So is there a reason why you boys are up way past your bedtime?" Chloe questioned, making the boys be quiet.

"Uhh, w-we were just-" Leonardo started.

"Heading through the sewers to-" Raphael said next.

"Search for your-" Donatello added.

"Birthday present!" Michelangelo finished and his brothers gave him an irritated look.

"My birthday was last month Michelangelo" Chloe told.

"Uhh... necklace?"

Chloe raised a suspicious eyebrow, "I'm not that upset with you boys" the turtles sighed with relief, "but I'm not so sure about your father though; what do you think Splinter?"

The turtles stiffened in fright as they slowly turned around to see Splinter practically towering over them with his arms crossed and a stern expression on his face.

"Dojo. Now." Splinter ordered in a calm but firm tone.

The turtles were soon in the dojo with their parents, feeling nervous and anxious about what would happen.

"What were you boys thinking?" Splinter questioned, pacing in front of them as Chloe stood behind him, "Going up to the surface is too dangerous for you"

"We just wanted to take a peek" Raphael told.

"I tried to talk them out of it, but they wouldn't listen to me" Leonardo told.

"I know you did Leonardo, but that doesn't excuse all of you for trying to sneak out" Chloe spoke, "You boys know that you are different from the people above us"

"We know that" Donatello spoke, "That's why we thought we would go at night so no one would see us"

"You boys are still too young to be going up to the surface, you're barely halfway through your training and you have yet to master lurking in the shadows" Splinter told, "You are not ready"

"Then when will we be ready?" Leonardo asked.

"When I tell you, now go to your rooms and go to bed, for the next week, no TV and no video games"

The turtles groaned and soon went to bed.

"I wonder if our lecture will get through to them" Chloe said with a small sigh, "Do you think we should supervise them during their trip to the surface?"

"No, they are too eager, they could easily make a mistake with the distractions and get caught by a human, even if we are with them, which we can't be all the time" Splinter said, then he sighed a groan, "Teenagers"

Chloe then had a look of sudden realization, "Oh my god they're teenages" Chloe then made a whining noise, "Oh my god, they're teenagers, my babies are growing up so fast!"

Splinter chuckled a little and brought Chloe into a hug, placing a kiss on her head, "Do not worry Chloe, we'll make it through it"

Chloe sighed a little, "I know, but we have to work together, there are four of them and two of us, we're a bit outmatched, even if you're a ninja master and I'm at an average level, they'll gang up on us"

"Yes, as long as we work together, I think we can survive they're rebellious phase"

Chloe took in a deep breath and released it slowly, relaxing as they continued to hug each other, knowing that they won't be able to have anymore peaceful moments for a long while through the boys teenage years.


	27. Year Fourteen: Secret, Surprise, Love

**YES! Finally, last chapter, I hate for it to end, but I'm excited for the next story involving Chloe and some new characters. I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to read my story and I loved the reviews; so I hope you guys like the last chapter because I had fun writing it.**

 **Splinter's POV**

I couldn't tell where in the movie that I stopped watching, but I did to gaze down at Chloe as she fell asleep somewhere in the middle of the movie. She was sleeping in the crook of my arm, her head on my shoulder, her mouth slightly open as she snored lightly; I thought it was cute how she snored so softly. Looking at Chloe, I thought she was so beautiful, so wonderful, she was a fun and considerate friend, a tough and compassionate mother; with each passing day, I was falling more and more in love with her, no matter how many times I thought I couldn't fall more in love with her, she takes me completely by surprise.

Chloe was everything to me and she was the boys whole world, but somehow, something was missing, though it seemed so small, it was the biggest thing in the world right now and it would mean everything to Chloe, even the boys now that they were older and they, somewhat, gotten used to us being loving towards each other. I continued to gaze down at Chloe, not all that interested in the movie anymore; I reached over to brush Chloe's soft hair behind her ear, giving me more view of her beautiful face. I'm possibly the luckiest man right now, despite all my tragedies; I regained a loving family and home with sons that I'm very proud of and I have a wonderful friend who was now the love of my life, which I thought I could never have again.

"I love you so much Chloe" I whispered, placing a gentle kiss on her head so I wouldn't wake her from her slumber, "You mean so much to all of us and it would make such a difference if you became so much more to me than you are now"

Chloe stirred a bit in her sleep before she moved one of her arms to wrap around my waist, holding me closer to her; I did the same and wrapped my other arm around her to hold her close to me, resting my head on top of hers and closed my eyes to enjoy the peaceful comfort that I knew would never end as long as I had her in my arms.

 **Chloe's POV**

For the last couple of days, I noticed that something strange has been happening around the lair. Splinter seems to be a bit distant ever since we had that movie night, maybe he was upset that I fell asleep in the middle of it; and the boys looked excited whenever they looked at me, like they wanted to tell me something, but something prevented them from talking to me about it. It was all very strange how it seemed like everyone had some big secret that no one would tell me about, it was all suspicious. It was even more suspicious when I overheard the boys talking in the kitchen.

"I'm so excited I can't stand it!" Michelangelo exclaimed, laughing excitedly. "Don't blow it Mikey, I swear I'll beat the green off of you if you spill it!" Raphael threatened.

"Leave him alone Raph, we're all excited about it" Donatello said.

"Mom is getting pretty suspicious about it, I don't know if we'll be able to keep it from her if she asks us" Leonardo said.

"When is Splinter going to ask her?!" Michelangelo practically screamed.

"MIKEY!" The others shouted louder than their younger brother.

"What is going on in here?" I questioned as I stepped in, making sure that they didn't get in a fight again and wondering what they were talking about.

"Mom!" The turtles exclaimed in surprise, already midway in starting their fight.

"What are you fighting about now?" I asked, giving them the chance to tell me directly.

"Uhh" Leonardo started, looking conflicted.

"We were" Raphael added, looking around the room other than at me.

"I have to tell her!" Michelangelo exclaimed as he tossed his brothers off of him and made his way towards me, his brothers looking like they would attack him at that moment, but I made sure that they wouldn't; everyone was acting so secretive that I need to know what it was because it was beginning to concern me.

"What do you have to tell me?" I asked.

"Master Splinter wants to take us somewhere in the sewers for advance training and we might be gone for a couple of days, but we didn't know how to tell you because he just wants it to be us and we didn't want to worry you"

I wasn't so sure if I should believe him because his brothers were giving him a shocking look, like they were surprised that he could make something up so quickly and perfectly, but apparently, they had some secret that they didn't want to tell me just yet. I knew what it was like keeping a secret from my parents when I was younger, but it was mainly a surprise for them; was that what the boys and Splinter were doing, planning some kind of surprise for me?

"Ok" I said, still suspicious of them when they sighed in relief and made my way out of the kitchen, wondering what my boys could be planning with their father.

After Splinter had taken the turtles out for their advanced training for the next few days, Chloe felt lonely, missing her boys and Splinter greatly. But after the few days passed and they finally came home, she greeted them lovingly, expressing how much she missed them.

"Chloe, follow me to the dojo, there is something that I wish to speak to you about" Splinter requested, taking Chloe's hand and began to lead her towards the dojo.

Chloe was slightly confused at what Splinter would want to talk to her about, but followed his lead. When there was some distance between the adults and the turtles, the boys snuck over towards the other end of the entrance to the dojo to peek through the screen wall to spy on what was about to happen, trying their best to contain their excitement and not interrupt their parents most important moment in their lives.

"Chloe" Splinter spoke as he faced Chloe as they stood in the middle of the dojo, "I wish to express my love for you"

Chloe blushed in shyness as she glanced to the side with an embarrassed smile, "Why do you need to express it, I know you already love me"

"Yes, I know you do, but there is something I want to ask you and it requires this"

"Ok, but nothing to mushy, I don't know if I'll be able to make it through"

Splinter chuckled lightly, "You'll have to bare with it"

Chloe took in a deep breath and released it in a huff, trying to calm her blushing face and continued to smile,"Ok, I'll try"

"Chloe, you've been my friend for so long, you were helpful, understanding and compassionate through the years since we met and you became someone I come to care for so much that I fell in love with you. I never thought I could love again after I lost my wife, but there was something so incredible about you that I couldn't help but fall and I continued to fall deeper and deeper in love with you with each passing day. Even when I thought I couldn't fall more in love with you, you so something that does and I don't think that it'll every stop, no matter how much time has passed between us. It's to a point where I can barely breath and all of thoughts are of you and how much you mean to me, more than you can possibly think Chloe"

Chloe sniffed a little as she wiped away the joyful tears from her face, "I never knew I meant that much to you Splinter, thank you"

"Chloe-"

"Wait a minute" Chloe interrupted, "I know you wanted to ask me something and it seems very important with what you just said, but I feel like I should also tell you how much I love you, it's only fair"

Splinter smiled happily at her gesture, "I would love nothing more"

Chloe took in a deep breath to calm herself so she wouldn't start crying again, releasing it slowly, "Yoshi, for all my life, before I met you and the boys, I could never have such a relationship like this - or any kind of relationship for that matter - because so much was going on in my life that I felt like I could never have the kind of love like we have. I was afriad to love anyone because I knew it would only endanger them, I barely have a stable friendship with the women who let me stay with her when my farm got repossessed. We kind of only became friends because our parents knew each other, we still stay in touch from time to time, but it's so unsteady between us because of these strange secrets we feel like we can't tell each other.

"You're the first person who I told everything to, who knows me more than I know about myself, who can make me feel safe, make me feel like I don't have to worry myself to death about what could happen if those men found you or me, knowing that you'll always protect me and that you'll come back to me as I will for you. You're the first person whose stayed in my life long enough for me to actually feel love and I feel a little guilty for not knowing how I can repay you for giving me something that I thought I could never have, even loving you feels like its not enough"

Splinter reached over, placing one hand on Chloe's shoulder and using his other hand to brush through her hair and rested it on the back of her neck, bringing her closer to him as he leaned halfway in to give the most loving kiss that Chloe has ever had with him that made her go weak in her knees.

"There is something that you can do to repay me" Splinter said when he pulled out of the kiss; Chloe looked confused before she looked shocked when Splinter got down on one knee and pulled out a small box from his robe and opened it to reveal a gold band ring, "Chloe, will you marry me?"

The turtles tried their best to contain their excitement; Chloe was taken completely by surprise by the whole situation, it came together for her why Splinter took the boys out to the sewers and why they seemed so excited and kept being so secretive, they were helping Splinter plan this surprise for her.

Chloe couldn't prevent her tears from falling, she never felt so happy and loved by so many people, her family, "Yes"

Chloe and Splinter, who stood up, hugged each other tightly before Splinter placed the ring on Chloe's finger.

"You can't imagine how long it took to find a ring that would fit for you" Splinter said as he held Chloe's hands.

"I guess that's another reason you involed the boys in this surprise, so they could help you find one"

"Can we come in now!" Michelangelo's voiced called out impatiently.

Chloe chuckled lightly at knowing that the boys were listening in on them, "Yes boys, you can come in"

The turtles came barreling in and hugged their parent excitedly, talking all at once at how excited they were about them getting married and how hard it was for them to keep it a secret.

"I don't think we can have an actually wedding" Chloe spoke as the boys talked to each other, "But not having a wedding doesn't mean we don't love each other any less, plus I never was a wedding-planner kind of girl, as long as I knew that you loved me enough, that's fine with me"

"I do love you Chloe, I always will"

"I love you too Splinter, more than you know"

Splinter and Chloe hugged each other again, knowing that their family felt complete now thay Chloe was becoming Splinter wife, with or without a wedding to make it offical, knowing that they only needed to know that they loved each other deeply and not matter what kind of battles they may face, it won't break what was built solidly together.


End file.
